Not Just Fun and Games
by SilverEyeShinobi
Summary: Several years after the Guardians defeated Pitch, Jack Frost remains a nomad, spreading ice and snow wherever he goes. But when his staff is stolen, Jack must call upon the Guardians and enlist the help of a teenage girl before the season of winter becomes a nightmare. Written before the movie came out. Severe AU, not canon at all. Not even close.
1. Chapter 1: The Legend of Jack Frost

**A/N: Welcome to my Rise of the Guardian's story! Anyone else excited for the movie? I am OnO Not just because of Jack Frost either (although he's the main reason XD) it's because of everything that's in it, the characters, the story... I took animation in my school, so I have a love for animated movies :)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story! I'll be updating every day until the movie comes out (This story has 10 chapters ono) so...yeah! I really hope you enjoy :D**

Not Just Fun and Games

Summary: Several years after the Guardians defeated Pitch, Jack Frost remains a nomad, spreading ice and snow wherever he goes. But when his staff is stolen, Jack must call upon the Guardians and enlist the help of a teenage girl before the season of winter becomes a nightmare.

Chapter 1: The Legend of Jack Frost

Here's the problem with being a myth: everyone's heard about you, but nobody believes that you're real. Of course, to adults, myths are just entertaining stories to tell children to get them to be good. They don't actually _know_ anything, now do they?

The fact is that children's minds are more flexible. They're more open to the bigger picture, more open to the world around them. You tell them about Santa, they'll get excited and start bouncing around with joy because they know Santa brings them presents. You mention the tooth fairy, and they'll instantly start trying to yank out that loose tooth of theirs for a little silver coin. You say 'Easter Bunny' and the children's mouths will water at the thoughts of chocolate. And finally, you say 'Sandman' and they'll be confused, but even they know who the Sandman is. After all, he's the reason their dreams are so pleasant.

And then there's me, Jack Frost. What do I bring? Snow, ice and cold wind. Oh, and frost. Lots and lots of frost. Basically, I'm the bane of everyone's existence. Not so surprising actually, seeing as I'm a pain in everyone's ass. Even Santa hates me. Okay, I wouldn't say he hates me, but apparently I hold the record for the Naughty list.

Oh well. I don't need presents.

Now today, I was planning a big day. For the last week, I'd been up north, whipping up a snowstorm, and now I was giving the snow to a small village to the south. It was December, and I knew they all wanted a white Christmas. I mean, who didn't?

But the thing was, the weather network was just ranting about the horror of this snowstorm and saying it will drop a lot of snow, and everyone should get their snow tires on so they don't spin out on ice and have their car explode into millions of tiny pieces... Okay maybe not explode, but they'd crash. My fault? Yeah maybe. But I just cause the ice. It's all up to the humans to put snow tires on their cars so they _don't_ spin out. It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, no?

Anyway, about that snowstorm.

I waved my staff, a blue glow shooting up into the sky where the snowstorm blew overhead. Instantly, a few flakes of snow began to fall as the storm crept slowly south. Laughing, I ran through the woods, frost and ice spreading from every spot my bare feet touched. I flew on a cold, north wind, blowing the few stray leaves of autumn off the trees. All the while, I held my staff up, dragging the snowstorm as if it was on a wire down towards the town of Vindale. It was hard, and it was difficult, but if I'd done it right, they'd have a snow day tomorrow. That's all I lived for. I wanted to see those laughing happy kids as they played in the snow. Oh, and I also loved seeing adults shouting themselves hoarse at the amount of snow and ice on their cars. Now that was funny.

The snow continued to fall, harder and harder as I ran. I could see the village up ahead, bright and warm beneath layers upon layers of frost. But at the same time, it was sad to look at, simply because of all of the grass.

"No more grass." I said with a grin.

I launched the storm towards the village, a cold wind nearly blowing me down as the snow whipped towards the village. I smiled as the ice and snow fell in waves. It hit the village straight on, making me laugh. White Christmas here we go!

I cheered as I skidded across ramps of ice and snow, dropping ice and frost everywhere I could. I wanted to make sure the snow would stay for weeks, for the rest of the winter if I could. It was my way of saying 'Jack Frost was here!'

But unfortunately, nobody looked outside the morning after a snowstorm and thought, 'Oh hey, Jack Frost paid us a visit last night!' No, they think 'Oh great, looks like the commute is going to be miserable. Not to mention its cold... I wonder what's for breakfast...'

It's a hard, thankless task, bringing winter. Although I knew that there was a group of children who could see me. Most children can see me. But these children were different. They actually knew who I was. I could tell exactly how and why they knew who I was, but I prefer just to show you.

After all, tomorrows a snow day!

...

The snow storm had moved on by the next morning. But the second I started seeing laughing children emerging from their houses with toboggans the next morning, I knew I'd succeeded.

"SNOW DAY!" I cried, leaping from the trees and running through the streets. Kids turned and waved at me while laughing. Even as I ran by, some kids shivered from the cold wind, but they still smiled up at me, rosy cheeks and all. They knew I was the strange boy with white hair who could fly for some reason.

Though seeing these children smile made me feel good, they weren't the ones I cared about the most.

I rushed through a forested path, leaving frozen snow in my wake. I knew that anyone who went through it would come quite close to breaking their ankles on the ice, but I also knew that if they were careful, they wouldn't have any problem with it. I rounded a corner and came upon a mansion; the Vindale Orphanage. It was my favourite place in the world.

I leapt up onto the roof, leaving frost imprints all over the windows. I could faintly hear the children screaming in excitement as they watched the frost cover their windows. I leapt down the other side of the building and deliberately made wind whistle through cracks in the walls. I grinned and a moment later a teenage girl stepped out, bundling herself up in a jacket. She was still wearing her pyjama bottoms and slippers.

"Jack Frost, we're trying to eat breakfast here!" She scolded.

I grinned. "Sorry, Lucilla. I couldn't resist!"

"As always." She shivered slightly. "We'll be out later. These kids need to take care of their chores first."

"Aw come on, Lucilla! I brought these kids a snow day so they could have fun!" I sagged my shoulders, trying to look as pathetic as I could. I'm sure she knew what I did to bring all of this snow here.

Lucilla groaned. "I hate it when you make Bambi eyes at me. Fine, we'll be out around noon." Then she closed the door.

I leapt in the air, cheering loudly.

The door opened again. "And keep it down!" Lucilla told me. "These kids are already excited to see you. I don't need them asking me to let you in again."

"Yeah, I'm still sorry about that." I rubbed the top of my head sheepishly. Let's just say things don't really work out well when I'm inside... The only house in the world that's immune to it is North's house. But even then, I still managed to freeze everything around me.

Lucilla sighed, then smiled.

"Thanks for the snow, Jack." She said.

I grinned back. "Just doing what I can."

"See you in a bit." Then she closed the door and I stood in the backyard of the orphanage alone.

I made my way over to the large snow hill in the back. The snow was perfect, smooth, and cold. But I figured that I'd better make it icier so these kids could have a lot of fun later.

With a cheer, I slid down the hill, my bare feet leaving paths of ice all over the place. I knew nobody else really came here. The orphanage was peaceful and quiet. Occasionally, people came by to adopt the children, but I couldn't help but miss them whenever someone left. I knew they were better off with Lucilla. She was only eighteen, but I'd known her for the last two years. She'd volunteered a lot of time at that orphanage, as she too was an orphan. She'd run away from home and I'd found her in the snow. I helped her find her way to this same orphanage where she was looked after by the elderly matron who died over the summer that same year due to heatstroke.

Lucilla had taken over the orphanage, and now she was looking after the children as best as she could. It was as if she'd grown up, but at the same time remained young. I didn't know why she could see me, but I wasn't complaining. If anybody over the age of twelve could see me, I found it an accomplishment. For an eighteen year old to be able to see me, I considered it a trophy.

The first excited squeal of a child alerted me to their release. I looked up from my perch in the tree to see the twenty or so kids rushing from the mansion. All of them were hauling toboggans behind them.

"Where's Jack?" A little girl asked.

"I don't know," Lucilla said with a smile. "Maybe we should call him."

"JACK! HEY JACK!" A boy yelled. "Come out!"

"Jack!"

"Jack Frost!"

"Hey Jack!"

The chorus of calls made me smile. I leapt out of the tree and hit them with a blast of cold wind. They squealed and cheered as I landed on the ice in front of them. They crowded around me and hugged my legs and hands. One of them tried to grab my staff but I held it up out of their reach. It held power. In the wrong hands, I knew it could do some damage. Although there were times I wondered if my hands were even the right ones to hold it.

"You iced the hill!" A boy cried, jumping into his toboggan. "Lucy, can I go?"

Lucilla nodded. "Go for it."

The boy cheered and pushed off, rushing down the hill. All of the kids jumped on their toboggans and skidded down the hill. Some of them crashed into the fluffy snow at the bottom, others skimmed right over it and slowly ground to a halt.

"Why do you always ice the hill?" Lucilla asked, watching kids crash into the snow at the bottom.

"Because it's fun." I said with a shrug. "Come on, grab a toboggan and I'll show you."

Lucilla rolled her eyes but grabbed a toboggan. The kids stopped climbing the hills to watch.

"Coming with me?" Lucilla asked.

I shrugged. "Sure." I climbed into the back and held onto her waist. A little bit of frost spread across the jacket where my hands touched it.

"No ice manipulation." She said with a grin, not noticing the ice on her jacket.

"Aw, you're no fun."

"Okay fine, a little bit."

I grinned broadly as Lucilla pushed off down the hill. She laughed and screamed the whole way down, her long brown hair smacking me in the face. I leaned over her shoulder and pointed my staff at the ice in front of us. A giant ramp popped up and Lucilla screamed as we hit it and flew into the air. We hit the ground and instantly wiped out at the bottom. I sat up, still laughing.

"You call that _a little bit_?!" Lucilla cried.

I laughed. "Well yeah."

Lucilla looked up the hill, her eyes widening as she realized some of the kids were going to try going off the ramp as well.

I thought fast, pointing my staff at the ramp, breaking it apart so it didn't stay. The kids groaned in disappointment.

"Sorry, kids. Lucilla would kill me if you guys got hurt."

"Oh I'd _melt_ you, Jack Frost!" Lucilla shook her fist in my direction.

I shuddered, the mere thought of being melted concerning me. Lucilla laughed, realizing her threat had hit home.

"So no hurting the children, all right?" She said.

"Yeah. Just don't melt me." I told her, running a hand through my hair.

"You're not saying you can _actually_ melt, can you?"

"I don't know, but I have a hard enough time dealing with any weather above freezing."

"Jeez, I can't decide whether to be impressed, or freaked out." Lucilla said sheepishly.

"Lucy! Lucy!"

"Come slide with us!"

Lucilla shrugged and headed up the hill. I remained at the bottom, watching the kids laugh and scream as they shot down the hill. I loved these kids. No family, no parents, no idea where they came from. Like me. I have no memory of anything until recent times. As in, last two hundred years recent times. I don't know why it is, and even then that first year is still fuzzy. It was as if I'd just popped into existence. It was probably the same thing these kids were feeling. Lucilla was the closest thing they had to a mom. And even though she was eighteen, she was very, very good at what she did. I admired her for it.

I don't know how long I stood there, high fiving kids or carrying them back up the hill if they were too tired to do so. All I know is that I don't regret any moment of it, and it would always be one of my favourite memories. The laughter, the smiles, especially Lucilla's, was all of the thanks I ever needed. It was for these people that I would always bring winter.

Eventually, Lucilla called the children back into the house. I once again let every single one of them hug me before they headed inside, sleepy heads bowed. When the last one was in, Lucilla turned towards me.

"Thanks again, Jack." She said with a smile. "See you tomorrow?"

"Count on it." I said with a grin.

Lucilla smiled back and headed inside the orphanage. Left alone, I skidded down the hill until I reached the bottom. I turned and looked back up at the mansion. For sure I'd be back tomorrow. How could I not?

A hand clamped over my mouth. I yelped in surprise, but the sound was stifled by the hand. I raised my staff, trying to fend off the attacker, but a second hand grabbed my arm and twisted it. My staff fell from my hand and landed in the snow with a painful _crunch_.

"Nice try, Jack Frost." A voice growled. My eyes widened at the voice, so horrible and so familiar. "But now, you will get to watch as everything you care about goes down the drain."

I struggled, but-

...


	2. Chapter 2: Frozen in Ice

Not Just Fun and Games

Chapter 2: Frozen in Ice

...

_Jack?_

_..._

_Jack, please wake up._

_..._

"JACK!"

I groaned, bringing my hands up to my face. I was lying in a soft pile of snow. Actually, I was lying in the snow at the bottom of the hill by the orphanage. Lucilla was leaning over me, her eyes wide with fright.

"Jack? Are you okay?" She asked.

I sat up slowly, running a hand over the side of my head. "What happened?" I asked, my voice thick and slurred.

"I don't know. I just came outside to try to find you and you were lying here in the snow. I don't even know what happened, but I figured you wouldn't deliberately sleep on the ground." She said.

I ran a hand over my head again, and everything rushed back to me. Snow day, sledding, the children, the hand and-

"Oh no..." I whispered, standing up quickly. "My staff, where's my staff?!"

"Your...Oh that..." Lucilla glanced around, looking for it. "I don't know. Did you drop it?"

"Something jumped me from behind and knocked me unconscious." I said, my voice shaking. "Lucilla, I have to find that staff!"

"Jack,"

I dug frantically through the snow, searching for any sign of my staff. My heart raced and I felt an unshakeable urge to start throwing things. This was not good. This was absolutely not good.

"JACK!"

I jumped slightly, turning towards Lucilla. I could feel myself shaking, and I guess she could see it because she approached me and took my hands in her mittened ones.

"Jack, calm down. You won't find your staff if you freak out."

"Lucilla, you have no idea..." I whispered. "That staff holds power. It's what helps me bring winter."

"Wait, you're telling me that all of your power is in a single object?" Lucilla raised her eyebrow.

"Not all of it, but most of it." I pulled my hands from hers and continued digging through the bushes and snow. "Technically speaking without it, I can create frost. But creating things like snow, and controlling ice and whatnot are all things my staff allows me to do."

"So wait, you're telling me...?"

"Lucilla," I looked at her seriously. "With that staff, if I really wanted to, I could create an ice age."

She stood there, staring at me in horror.

"And now, that staff is in the wrong hands." I told her. "Lucilla, they could destroy the world. Not even create an ice age, they could freeze the entire planet!"

"Jack, that's crazy..."

"No, it's not." I said. "There are many things that are beyond human understanding. Magic is one of them. Magic is powerful, so powerful you wouldn't be able to comprehend it if you tried."

"Jack, what are we going to do?"

"_We_?" I stared at her seriously. "No, not we, _I_ am going to have to contact the Guardians." I froze and suddenly felt sick to my stomach. "North is going to kill me..."

"Who's North?" Lucilla asked.

I opened my mouth to tell her, but in the distance I saw a beam of blue light shoot into the sky. My eyes widened in horror.

"GET DOWN!" I cried, grabbing her arm and yanking her into the snow. She squealed and I closed my eyes, hoping what remained of my power would protect us. A wave of blue whipped over us and Lucilla screamed as a freezing wind slammed into us. I held onto her, hoping, that after all of this the two of us would get out unscathed.

The wind stopped. I breathed a sigh of relief. Lucilla was trembling. I sat up slowly, glancing around, feeling myself pale at the sight of the glittering blue ice that now covered every inch of the world.

"J-Jack? What was that?" Lucilla slowly got onto her hands and knees. Her lips were tinged blue and the skin on her face was pasty white. Frostbitten. She raised her hand to touch her face.

"Stop." I told her. "Don't rub your face. You have frostbite."

She looked mildly horrified. Instead she pulled off her mittens and gently touched her face, wincing in pain as the warmth in her hands met the icy cold. "W-What happened?" She asked.

I glanced at all of the ice around me. It seemed to go on forever. I'm sure there was a limit to how far it reached, but it didn't affect me. Lucilla managed to survive it because of me, but I knew at that moment that everything in the village had been crystallized. Frozen.

"Oh no!" Lucilla cried, shoving her mittens back on. "The orphanage!" She raced up the hill, stumbling and slipping across the new ice. She slipped again and slammed hard into the ground, sliding back down to my feet. I helped her stand up and supported her as we walked up the hill.

The orphanage had been coated in a layer of ice just like the trees around us. It was both beautiful and terrible. A feeling of dread washed through me.

"NO!" Lucilla cried, rushing towards the door. I grabbed her and held her back. "JACK! LET GO! THE KIDS ARE IN THERE! They could be dead!"

"They're not dead, Lucilla." I told her, trying to hold her back. She was ridiculously strong. "They're just frozen in the ice!"

"They're trapped!" She shrieked, breaking from my grip and attacking the ice.

"Lucilla! You can't break this ice!"

"You can!" Lucilla cried, turning towards me. "Break it and get these kids out!"

"No, I can't! It's magic ice! It can only be formed and broken by my staff! And besides, even if I could break it, the kids are just as frozen as everything else out here!"

"NO!" Lucilla shrieked, attacking the door again. All she managed to do was hurt her hands and feet. She collapsed to the ground crying.

"Lucilla..." I whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"This was caused by your staff, wasn't it?" She sobbed.

"Yes." I said, feeling ashamed of myself.

"And why, why the hell was that kind of power given to _you_, Jack Frost!" She stood up, shrieking at the top of her lungs. "You are the single most irresponsible person I've ever known! How the world wasn't destroyed until now is _beyond_ me! And now, because of your carelessness, that staff was stolen, and now all of these kids are frozen, and they'll never come back!"

Her words were like a painful slap to the face.

She was right.

All of this was my fault.

"They're not dead, Lucilla." I said softly. "And I'm not just going to abandon them. I'm going to get my staff back and I'm going to put things right. That I promise you."

"Take me with you." She said, wiping the tears off her face. "I didn't spend two years of my life looking after these children only to have them locked in ice for the rest of eternity."

"Fine. But the journey will be long. We have to go to the North Pole." I told her. "Better get started now."

"But we need food! Provisions! I can't make a journey like that!"

"Exactly." I told her. "But I _can_ make that journey."

"You're going to fly, aren't you?"

"Nope." I said. "Staff controls the wind too."

"WELL THAT'S JUST FANTASTIC!" Lucilla threw her arms into the air. "I _love_ the sense in all of that! First of all, your power is contained in an _object_ that can be _stolen_! Second of all, _everything is frozen_. Third, you want to make an impossible journey to the _North-goddamned-Pole_!"

"Okay, first of all, I had no control over where my power came from. Second of all, everything is _not_ frozen. Just Vindale is. Third of all, I _have_ to make the journey to the North Pole. I don't have a choice unless I want to stand by and watch the world freeze in a giant _snowball_!" I shouted back.

"Better get started now, huh?" She hissed at me.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Yes, I guess I should." And I turned on my heel and walked away.

Lucilla followed me.

...

By the time we got out of Vindale, a light snow was falling. When I glanced back at the crystallized town, I saw dark snow clouds billowing up over the houses. If my staff was anywhere, it was somewhere in Vindale. Although, I could be wrong, and if I tried to take back my staff now anyway, I'd fail miserably. I was powerless.

"There has to be an easier way, Jack." Lucilla gasped, bundling herself up tighter. I knew she was cold, but I wasn't quite sure how to help her.

"An easier way?" I questioned, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

"To the North Pole." Lucilla stated. "At the rate we're going, by the time we make it to the North Pole, the person who stole your staff will probably have turned the whole world to ice." She paused. "Who stole your staff anyway?"

"I have an idea, but I don't want to make assumptions." I stated.

"Okay, so easier way? Come on, Jack." Lucilla shivered. "You know that I couldn't make this journey if I tried."

I glanced up at the ever darkening sky, scratching my chin. I knew that the last time I was at the North Pole, I'd been chucked through a portal to get there. Unfortunately, this time around, there were no Easter Bunnies to ambush me.

"Easter Bunnies..." I whispered, my brows furrowing.

"_What_?" Lucilla stared at me as if I was crazy.

"That it!" I cried. "We need to find a child with a loose tooth."

"Oh you've got to be joking..." Lucllia rolled her eyes. "I can think of five of them right now, and they're all back at the orphanage. They would _gladly_ give up a tooth."

"You know, Lucilla, your sarcasm is starting to piss me off."

"Well _sorry_, Frosty. I'm cold, and I just want to save those kids, okay?"

I was mildly irritated at being called 'Frosty' but I tried not to react to it.

"So how are we going to get a hold of a child with a loose tooth? Kidnapping?"

"_No._" I growled. "We just need to find one, get them to pull the tooth out and sleep with it under their pillow. Then, Tooth will come, and we'll be able to tell her about what happened, and-"

"Whoa, wait a second. Tooth?"

"The tooth fairy." I told her as if it was the most obvious thing. "That's her name."

"Well good luck getting someone to let you into their house to wait for the tooth fairy." Lucilla sighed in irritation.

Technically speaking, she had a point, and a very good one at that. But I couldn't give up hope. We had to do something.

"I don't suppose you'd want to rip one of yours out?" I asked, almost as a joke.

"Oh yeah sure." Lucilla bent down and grabbed a large rock off the ground and handed it to me. "Here, smash away." She held her mouth open.

I tossed the rock on the ground, shaking my head. "I was kidding."

"Yeah? I wasn't. Although I wouldn't let you do it."

"Exactly."

"Any other bright ideas?"

"When was the last time you wrote a letter to Santa?"

"Uh, never." Lucilla crossed her arms. "I don't believe in Santa."

"Well better start believing, because he exists." I frowned at her. "Why didn't you believe in him anyway?"

"Because every year when I was a child, my parents would always say that I wasn't a good girl that year, and that's why I never got presents. Even when I did everything good I possibly could, I still didn't get any presents. I then found out that my parents were just lying to me so they didn't have to 'waste their money' on me."

I was in shock. I didn't even know how to respond to that.

"So there, I don't believe in Santa. If he existed, he would've brought me presents." She looked at me seriously. "Unless you know what he actually does with the presents?"

"He gives... little things to good children." I told her. "Things that can't be seen, but can only be felt."

Lucilla frowned.

"He gives happiness and joy." I stated, running a hand through my hair.

"Okay, you just went from epic to cheesy in one sentence."

"You thought I was epic?" I grinned.

Lucilla flushed red, although it could've been the cold. "NO! You're a pain in the ass!"

"Okay, if you insist." I said, pretending to skip gleefully away.

"NO, JACK!" Lucilla cried, probably flushing a brighter red.

I laughed and turned to look at her. As I did so, I caught sight of the dark clouds bubbling up from over Vindale. I felt my heart sink in my chest. Lucilla probably saw the grim expression on my face and turned around as well.

"We should go." Lucilla said softly.

I nodded, turning on my heel and heading further north.

I just hoped we could get there before it was too late.


	3. Chapter 3: Journey to the North Pole

Not Just Fun and Games

Chapter 3: Journey to the North Pole

Lucilla huddled around a fire that night. I stayed far out of the way, hiding up in the trees and away from the heat. She kept glancing up at me with concerned grey eyes. I would smile down at her every time, but deep down, I was a mess. I was filled with worry and I felt sick to my stomach at the mere thought of the world coming to an end because of me.

The wind was cold that night. So cold, that even I could feel it. Lucilla huddled as close to the fire as she could get without burning herself. Overcome by a wave of pity, I jumped from the tree and stood a decent distance away from the fire. She glanced at me with tired eyes.

I quickly pulled off my hoodie, shivering slightly as the cold bit into my arms and through the t-shirt I'd been wearing beneath it. My clothes were enchanted. They blocked out most of the cold, especially my hoodie.

"You can only wear this away from the fire." I told her. "It'll keep you warm."

She stood up and walked over to me, taking my hoodie and throwing it over her jacket. It was so big on her, her arms couldn't fit through the sleeves. I bit back a laugh as I felt an involuntary shiver pass through me.

"Thanks, Jack." Lucilla said, sitting against the tree beside me. "It really helps."

I smiled. "Well, I'm glad."

"But now you're cold." She observed.

"I can handle it. I won't freeze like you will. It's just uncomfortable."

"I'm guessing you can take more cold if you have your staff?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm completely immune with it."

Lucilla took a deep breath and sighed. "We'll get it back."

"We have to get it back." I said. "I don't even want to think about what would happen if we didn't."

Lucilla nodded, closing her eyes.

I knew she'd fallen asleep soon after. In the meantime, I sat awake, rubbing my arms in a futile attempt to make myself more comfortable.

...

Lucilla shook me awake the next morning. My eyes opened painfully, as if they'd been frozen shut all night. When I glanced down at myself, I discovered that a thin layer of ice had coated my entire body.

"You're a mess, Jack." Lucilla said softly, handing me back my hoodie. I quickly pulled it on, feeling the cold going away almost instantly.

"Yeah." I muttered. "I know."

Lucilla sighed. "Any new ideas?"

"None." I said.

"Then let's head into town. I want to find myself a hot breakfast."

"I'll... go look for a solution."

"You don't want to eat?"

"Not really. I don't need to." I said. "But you can go have fun."

"I can only try." Lucilla sighed.

The two of us walked into the town neighbouring Vindale. Lucilla wandered around, looking for a place to have breakfast while I tried to think of something. Every once in awhile, I would glance back at the growing storm behind me. I could already see whiteout conditions blowing steadily towards us.

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered.

"Who?" Lucilla asked.

I shook my head. "Later."

Lucilla sighed but nodded.

We managed to find a fast food place that sold pancakes. I waited on the roof of the building while she ate, staring at the approaching clouds. For a moment, I thought I saw the sparkle of North's sleigh whizzing overhead. It could've just been wishful thinking though. Although I couldn't help but have hope.

Lucilla emerged from the food place and we started north again. I knew she didn't like the walking, but we had to do our best with what we had.

As the snow built up that day, even I was having trouble walking through it. A wave of hopelessness had washed over me and it wasn't letting go. How could I go on, knowing that it was my fault all of this was happening? It was my fault Vindale got frozen. It was my fault those children were locked in ice. It was my fault Lucilla was stumbling behind me, practically freezing to death. It was my fault the world was coming to an end.

I felt ice freezing on my face.

"Jack?" Lucilla said suddenly. "I need to stop. I'm exhausted."

I nodded, fighting back a loud sniffle and trying to subtly wipe the frozen trails of water off my face.

Lucilla noticed.

"Jack, are you crying?" She whispered, stepping towards me.

"No, I'm not." I said, rubbing my face with my hands.

"Jack," Lucilla knelt in front of me. "What's wrong?"

And I couldn't help but cry again.

"It's all my fault, Lucy..." I whispered, not even noticing that I'd used her nickname. "The ice, the snow, the storm, everything. It's all because of me."

"Jack..."

"And now I dragged you into it, and you're freezing, and there's so much snow, and neither of us can get through it." I sobbed. "We'll never get to the North Pole in time."

"Jack,"

A pair of very, very warm hands wiped the frozen tears off my face. I felt myself shudder, not because of the cold, but because of the warmth. It felt...familiar. Welcome.

"You're freezing, Jack." She said with surprise.

"I know." I whispered, staying as still as I could with the hope that she wouldn't let go.

She did, and the cold bit into my cheeks almost painfully.

"Where are your gloves?" I asked.

"They got wet." Lucilla stated. "So I'm just using my pockets. They're sort of working well." She stuffed her hands in her jacket once more.

"JACK FROST!"

I jumped several feet into the air and turned around, just in time to see something large and heavy slam into the ground next to us. A big, hulking man stepped from the object and emerged from the blowing snow. My eyes widened as I recognized him instantly.

"N-North..." I whispered.

North's beard was covered in snow, so it was mildly difficult to tell who he was, but in the end, it was pretty obvious judging by the bright red coat.

"Oh my god..." Lucilla whispered. "Santa..."

North glanced at Lucilla who was standing there, awestruck at the man in front of her.

"Who's this?" North asked me.

"This is Lucilla." I stated. "She's... my friend."

North's eyes scanned Lucilla critically. "Lucilla Wynn-Jones, was it?"

"Y-Yes sir..."

"Good girl, you were." North said, smiling brightly. "Circumstances aside."

"O-Oh..." Lucilla bit her lip. "I guess you would know about that..."

North nodded. "Every year, you needed the same thing: just a little strength so you could keep going."

"So...you brought me strength for Christmas?"

North smiled brightly. Then his expression turned sharp and he looked back at me. "Now, why don't you explain this growing snowstorm, Jack Frost?"

"My staff was stolen." I said, bowing my head.

"_Excuse me_?"

"I was jumped!" I protested. "Pitch snuck up on me, and-"

"_Pitch_?!"

"Yes, Pitch!" I cried.

"How do you know?"

"I'd know that voice anywhere, North." I stated.

North nodded, his face quite pale. "Regardless, Jack, letting your staff get stolen..."

"North, I couldn't do anything!"

"Get in the sleigh, Jack."

"Then Lucilla's coming too."

North looked at Lucilla for a moment, then nodded. "All right, both of you in the sleigh."

Lucilla was in first, her eyes wide with wonder and awe. She looked excited, happy even. I felt awful that it hadn't been me bringing her happiness this time around.

I jumped in beside her. "You might want to hold on tight."

North snapped the reins and the sleigh shot into the air. Lucilla squealed and laughed as we flew into the sky. And at that moment, I felt absolutely useless.

"So who's Pitch?" Lucilla asked as she got comfortable.

"Pitch is the spirit of nightmares and fear." North stated, taking the words right out of my mouth. "The Guardians fought him several years ago, but he hasn't struck back until now."

"So this Pitch guy stole Jack's staff to make the world a living hell?"

"Pretty much." I muttered.

"Either that, he wants revenge." North stated. "Jack _was_ the one who defeated him in the end."

Lucilla glanced at me, as if wondering just how I'd managed to defeat a nightmare. Then she turned away and watched the world zip by around us.

...

The North Pole hadn't changed a bit since the last time I was there. North's house was still the main thing in the area.

Lucilla couldn't speak through her awe. In a way, I could understand it. She'd gone from not believing in Santa to actually getting to meet him and go to his house. Her mouth was half open as she looked around at the hallways of North's house.

"You have a gift, Lucilla." North stated. "I know you didn't believe in me until this very moment, and yet you can still see me."

Lucilla shrugged. "It's no big deal. I didn't even know Jack Frost existed until I met him two years ago."  
North laughed his big, booming laugh that always made me want to freeze his mouth shut. "Well in that case, you have a gift that is very rare among humans; the gift to see the truth."

"Truth, huh?" Lucilla pondered this for a moment. "I doubt it. If I'd been able to see the truth, I'd know it when someone's lying to me."

"Not _that_ kind of truth." I told her, rolling my eyes. "It's the ability to see things for what they really are."

"Oh, yeah. Sure. So if I trusted this so called 'gift' I would have to say that you, Jack Frost, are a rebel without a cause and you have fun by freezing everything in sight and you enjoy watching people scrape ice off their cars every morning."

"Hit the nail right on the head," North chuckled.

I huffed and stamped down the hall, leaving ice footprints in my wake.

...

I wouldn't be lying if I said Lucilla's words had hurt. North had always called me a 'rebel without a cause' and even 'troublemaker' from time to time. Sure, maybe I was those things.

But that didn't mean I needed to be reminded.

I could still hear her shrill voice, telling me that she didn't know how the world hadn't come to an end yet because of me. Because I was so irresponsible with my power and just felt like making mischief with it. I'm sure she thought that causing the next ice age would be some kind of joke for me, but come on. Okay, I admit, causing an ice age would be fun as all living heck, but that doesn't mean I'm actually going to do it.

I was happily seated in the snow in North's backyard with my arms around my knees when Lucilla came looking for me.

"Jack? You okay?" She asked.

I didn't bother responding, watching the wind blow snow across the ice.

She sighed and sat down beside me. I didn't look at her, even when she brushed about an inch of snow off my shoulders. I didn't even notice it was there until she got rid of it. Actually, at that moment I realized my legs were mostly covered by the blowing snow.

"You would've just sat out here until that snow buried you, wouldn't you, Jack?"

She was probably right. And when the ice and snow encased me, I'd be out of sight, out of mind...

"Running won't solve anything, Jack."

"I'm not running!" I snapped.

"Would've fooled me." She said sarcastically.

I stretched my legs out, knocking the snow off and flopping down onto my side.

"Jack Frost, get up!" Lucilla cried.

"I don't want to." I muttered into the fluffy white snow.

Lucilla shivered as the wind blew across the ice.

"Go inside." I told her.

"No. Because if I do, you'll lie here until you're practically gone."

"So? Nobody will miss me. I'm a 'rebel without a cause', remember?"

"Damn it, Jack, GET THE HELL UP NOW!" She grabbed my arm and yanked me up so hard, I cried out in pain. "You forget that it's _your_ staff that Pitch guy is using to create that giant storm! You forget that _you_ were the one who defeated Pitch! You forget that _you_ are the only one who can get back that staff and free the kids!"

Of course, she was right. I just felt very, very unworthy at this point in time. As if the weight of the world was on my shoulders. Technically speaking, it was.

And that...well...that was a very, very hard pill to swallow.


	4. Chapter 4: Guardians Reunite

Not Just Fun and Games

Chapter 4: Guardians Reunite

North activated the Auroras that night.

One by one, they called the Guardians up to the North Pole. Tooth arrived first with all of her little helpers. She was very, very cross with me because of what happened. It didn't surprise me. Out of everyone in the Guardians, she was the sharpest.

Sandy came next. He didn't say anything, though judging from the expression on his face, he knew what had happened. But I can say one thing; someone can yell at you all they want, but nothing, absolutely nothing, can be more painful than a disappointed gaze.

Bunnymund didn't even look at me when he arrived. That was fine. We kind of didn't get along anyway. We tried, and we could be friends for about five minutes, but once the five minutes was up, we were no longer on speaking terms.

With each Guardian that arrived, Lucilla's face got more and more stunned. I could only imagine what was going through her head. All of the people she didn't believe in were standing right in front of her. I wished I could be happy for her, but all I could do was dread the next thing that would happen.

I would be centered out in front of the Guardians, and pinned as responsible for this disaster.

Lucilla was allowed to stay as the Guardians met up in North's living room. I'd always hated this room. It was stifling hot, and it melted the frost on my face, clothes and in my hair. Water ran down my face and dripped off the end of my nose. I could practically time it as it joined a rhythm being tapped out by the water running from my hands and my clothes as well. Lucilla took one look at me and burst out laughing.

"Shut up, Lucilla." I muttered.

"Well you do look pretty pathetic." Bunnymund stated.

Lucilla laughed. "Jack Frost? More like Jack _Thaw_!"

Instantly, the Guardians burst out laughing.

And while they were all entertained, all of the water that had been dripping off of me suddenly froze solid as anger rushed through me. The only downside to that was that now I couldn't move very well because my clothes were frozen.

North wiped a tear from his eye. "All right, that's enough."

Tooth giggled one more time, causing Bunnymund to snicker.

"Are you done?" I growled, my voice coming out angrier than I had intended.

"Yes, Jack, we are done." North said, sniffing. "I hope you all know the reason I've called you all here."

"Because Jack made a snowstorm and it went out of control." Bunnymund said.

Tooth nodded in agreement along with Sandy.

"I didn't make that storm!" I cried.

North nodded. "Why don't we let Jack explain?"

The Guardians turned towards me. I felt like I was going to be sick, and I didn't think it was from the heat.

I took a deep breath and let it out, the ice that had frozen on me starting to melt as my anger calmed.

"Pitch jumped me from behind and stole my staff." I stated, getting straight to the point.

Tooth's hand snapped to her tiny mouth. Bunnymund froze as if this was the last thing he expected, and Sandy looked to be on the verge of flipping over in his levitating state.

"I expect he's the one using it to create the storm." I said.

"How could you let your staff get stolen?!" Tooth cried. "Do you have any idea..." She trailed off, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, okay? He knocked me out before he stole it! I couldn't do anything!"

"And then he froze Vindale." Lucilla said, chipping in.

I nodded.

"Who's she again?" Tooth asked.

"Lucilla Wynn-Jones." North stated.

"Ah yes! I've seen you many times." Tooth said with a smile. "Good girl, looking after all of those kids..."

Bunnymund nodded along with Sandy.

Lucilla flushed red for a moment, looking away from the Guardians. In my mind, I couldn't help but feel jealous. She had the approval of _all_ of the Guardians. We _all_ thought she was the greatest person in the world. Even I thought she was great. I just couldn't help but feel a little resentful. Because I was the troublemaker. I was the one who was blamed the second something went wrong. Of course, I wasn't surprised.

"Anyway," North said, breaking the Guardians focus. "Back to the situation at hand. Pitch has Jack's staff, and with it, who knows what he'll do."

"He'll trigger the next ice age, that's what he'll do." I muttered.

The Guardians shifted nervously. I had a feeling they wanted to say something, but they didn't know how to say it.

So I spoke.

"So that's why I'm going to try to get it back." I said.

"_You_ can barely be trusted to _use_ the thing, let alone retrieve it!" Tooth said adamantly.

"But-"

"Tooth's right, mate." Bunnymund stated. "It was stolen from you once. Who's to say it won't happen again?"

"I-"

North nodded. "You will remain here, Jack. And we will go find Pitch and retrieve your staff."

"And what then?!" I cried. "You're just going to wave it around and dispel that storm?"

"We're going to have to try." North stated. "There's not much else we can do."

"North, it's _my fault_ this happened! I want to _fix_ it!"

"Exactly." Tooth said.

"Why won't you trust me?!"

"It's not that we don't trust you, Jack." North said.

"You're powerless without that staff." Bunnymund said. "You'd just be extra baggage."

The water covering myself and the floor froze once more. I had a feeling if I'd been holding my staff at the time, the frost radius would've been significantly larger. But a moment later, the ice melted.

"Fine." I whispered. "I see how it is." I wiped the water from my forehead. "I don't even know why you made me a Guardian in the first place, North. Not if you won't let me help you right something I half helped cause."

"Jack-"

"Do you have any idea how guilty I feel right now?!" I cried, clenching my fists. "Because of me, those kids back at the orphanage are trapped in ice! Because I wasn't paying attention, Pitch has my staff, and now he's going to use it to destroy the whole world! And you're telling me to sit back and wait for you to get it for me?!"

The Guardians were silent. They all averted their gaze as I stared around at each and every one of them.

I shook my head, in disbelief and bowed my head. "I'll just... go somewhere else then."

Then I turned and sulked out of the room, the door closing softly behind me.

...

Once again, I sat in the snow. This time, I stared up at the Auroras above my head. They were so pretty, always shifting, never staying in one place. They reminded me of myself. That's what I always did. I was always moving, always changing, always bringing snow in one way or another.

Always causing chaos, and havoc, and never ceasing to tick everyone off. I was cold, rebellious, mischievous, chaotic Jack Frost.

With a sigh, I stood up and plodded around North's backyard, searching for hard packed snow. I found some quickly against the side of the house and dug myself a tunnel. There, I knew nobody would bother me. I usually slept in a snow house whenever I was alone anyway.

"Jack?"

I sighed, seeing Lucilla poke her head into my snow cave.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Camping out." I merely said.

"Outside?"

"It's better than inside." I replied.

Lucilla rolled her eyes and crawled in with me. It was a bit too small for the two of us, and I was now mildly concerned about the roof caving in on us. Not to mention she was so close to me, I could feel the heat radiating off her skin.

"So what did the Guardians have to say?" I asked.

"They... Sat around and talked for a bit about what to do about you." Lucilla stated.

"And?"

Lucilla sighed. "They agreed that you were powerless without your staff. But at the same time, North knows you want to fix things. They're torn between letting you come and making you stay."

"Ah." I muttered.

"So why are you out here all alone?" Lucilla asked.

"I'm used to it." I merely said. "I live alone, I work alone, I'm happy alone."

"No you're not." She retaliated "Yes you may work alone, and live alone, but you certainly aren't happy, Jack."

Of course, she was right.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

I looked up at her. "I'm nothing but baggage." I stated. "I'm just a thorn in everyone's side, and all I really do is bring chaos."

"You bring snow, Jack."

"Feh. Snow." I muttered.

Lucilla sighed. "North told me you were the Guardian of Fun."

"He said that, did he?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I believe it. You always bring fun, even if you bring chaos with it. You're always having fun no matter what, and to me, fun is what matters the most. When you're having fun, you're happy. And when you're happy..." She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

She lapsed into silence as I slowly dug the snow cave a little bit larger so I could put a few inches of distance between us. She was silent as I moved away from her. I leaned against the snowy wall of the cave, the snow supported by North's house.

Lucilla's breath steamed in the snow cave. She was having fun, blowing on the ice crystals above her head and watching them melt. I personally felt as if my entire left side had melted once again. It probably had.

Then, she shivered. It was subtle, a very small shudder, but I noticed it.

"Lucilla, go back inside." I told her.

"And leave you alone out here?" Lucilla asked. "No thanks."

"I'm used to being alone." I told her. "Just go inside."

Lucilla crossed her arms adamantly and dug her heels into the floor of the snow cave. She wasn't leaving.

"I'm not giving you my hoodie again." I warned.

"And why not, Jack Frost?" She asked, a grin on her face.

"Because it's in your power to go inside and get warm. Besides, that was a onetime thing."

"Ah. I see." Lucilla pulled her knees to her chest. "Well I'm not too cold. It's getting kind of warm in here, actually."

"Uh oh. You've entered the third stage of hypothermia."

"And how so, Jack?" She grinned at me.

"First, you get cold, and then it starts to hurt." I stated, ticking them off on my fingers. "The second stage is when you go numb and you can't feel anything. The third, you get hot. The fourth, you fall asleep and die."

"Fun. Well, then don't let me fall asleep, okay?" She smiled.

...

She did fall asleep.

I don't think I've been so annoyed in my life.

Because not only did she fall asleep, she fell over onto me and now her head was on my shoulder. I tried to wake her up, and I touched her face to see if she was cold. She was still warm, although I figured that anything was warm compared to me.

I dozed myself, or at least I tried to. I kept waking up, half worried about Lucilla freezing to death right beside me. Eventually, I gave up and pushed her into a sitting position. She murmured something unintelligible as I smashed the top off my snow cave off. Then, I picked her up and carried her into North's house. Tooth saw me and raised an eyebrow, but I ignored her.

I hated how warm the entire house was. Once again, my hair thawed out and stuck to my forehead. Luckily, Lucilla's jacket was water repellent. I had a feeling she'd be pretty drenched if it hadn't been.

I found a spare room for her and carried her inside.

"Jack?" She murmured, her eyes opening slightly.

"Just go back to sleep." I told her with a sigh.

"But..."

I helped her sit down onto the bed. She pulled off her jacket and tossed it away.

"It's too warm in here..." She muttered, lying down as I pushed the covers up to her chin.

"Why do you think I hate it so much?" I asked, smiling slightly.

"Jack?"

"Hm?"

"Can I borrow your hand?"

"For what?" I asked, holding it out.

She took it in hers and pressed it against the side of her face. I flinched as the heat burned into my hand. At the same time though, it felt normal. Familiar even. I couldn't make heads or tails of it, but all I knew was that Lucilla continued to hold my hand against her cheek. Eventually, she fell asleep, still pressing it to the side of her face.

I sat on the carpet by her bed, wanting to move, but at the same time not wanting to leave this behind. It was as if there was something tugging at the back of my mind, something important that I couldn't remember. All I got out of it was a single question:

"Who am I?" I whispered softly.

_You are Jack Frost, Spirit of Winter_.

And then I closed my eyes.


	5. Chapter 5: North's Warning

Not Just Fun and Games

Chapter 5: North's Warning

Something cold and wet pressed against the side of my face. I yelped and shot into a sitting position.

"Jack? Are you all right?" Lucilla asked, holding a handful of snow in gloved hands. "You fell asleep inside, and you wouldn't wake up."

I scanned my location with tired, blurry eyes. I'd fallen asleep in Lucilla's room.

"Wait, this was cold?" Lucilla asked, pressing her snow covered hands against my face again.

I shuddered. "Jeez, cut that out!"

"You thawed out overnight. Look at yourself!"

I stood up, glancing at the mirror and doing a double take. My hair was dry, as were my clothes. I didn't have any frost on me, but I felt...almost warm.

"Uh oh." I whispered.

"What happened?" Lucilla asked.

"I think my staff did something else."

"What?"

"It protected me from heat."

"So wait, you're saying...?"

I headed straight for the bedroom door. I ran through the halls, heading for the door leading to North's backyard. As I saw it, I held my breath and then shoved through it.

The cold slammed into me like a brick wall. When my feet hit snow, the ice stung them as if I'd stepped on a bed of needles. I tripped and hit the snow face first, the cold making me want to run straight back inside.

"JACK!" A voice cried. It was North.

"Why am I so cold?" I asked, looking up at North.

"Jack, get inside before you freeze."

"But... I can freeze?" I asked, confused.

"Now you can, so get inside!"

I was shivering as North led me back into the house. He sat me down on the couch in the living room. I felt sick to my stomach. What had happened to me? Why was I so powerless? I could hear the Guardians whispering their theories as Lucilla threw a thick quilt over me. Quilts... I shouldn't need quilts...

"North, what happened to me?" I whispered.

"That, I cannot say Jack Frost." North stated.

I stood up, tossing the quilt aside and stamping on the floor, trying to make frost appear. Nothing happened.

Nothing.

"No..." I whispered, collapsing on the couch. "No!"

"Jack..." North put a hand on my shoulder.

"I can't be powerless!" I cried. "I'm a Guardian too! How can I lose my powers?!"

None of the Guardians responded. I gave a strangled cry and pressed my hands into my face.

"You're powers aren't gone forever, Jack." North stated. "That I promise you."

"How do you know?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Because you still look like Jack Frost."

"What are you saying?"

North shook his head and looked around at the Guardians. "Now, it's of utmost importance that we get Jack's staff back before he loses his powers permanently."

The Guardians nodded.

"Why would you even say that?" I asked.

"What do you mean, Jack?" Tooth asked.

"I'm a pain, aren't I? I don't use my powers for good. I use them for fun. Why would you want to give them back to me?"

"Jack, that's just who you are. If we didn't want you using your powers, we'd have taken your staff away ourselves." North said.

Bunnymund nodded in agreement.

"But..." I felt a strange burning sensation at the back of my eyes. It felt...familiar somehow.

"Jack, look at me." North stated.

I did as I was told.

"You may find that some things may be familiar now. Don't ever give into them. Don't listen to them, don't try to figure out where it came from." North said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Please, just don't ask questions. Just try to remember: you are Jack Frost."

I nodded slowly.

"Say it: you are Jack Frost."

"I'm Jack Frost." I repeated, not really understanding where this was going.

North nodded. "Good. Always remember that."

And now, I was completely lost. Now I knew that there was something the Guardians had been keeping from me. I didn't know what it was, but North had told me not to dwell on it. I didn't know why, and I didn't know how I'd be able to do that now that I knew they'd been keeping a secret.

"We will head for Vindale as soon as possible." North stated. "Tooth, can I get you to scout out the area?"

"Are you kidding?" Tooth cried. "You want _me_ to fly through that blizzard? Not happening! My wings will freeze off!"

"Fine. We'll have to go later today in that case."

"Tooth's right though." I stated. "The blizzard is probably huge by now."

"It is." North said. "That's another reason we have to get moving as soon as we can. Prepare yourselves. I'll call you when we're heading out."

"What can I do?" I asked.

"Jack, you can come with us." North said.

"Won't I be extra baggage though?"

"You're Jack Frost." Bunnymund said. "If anyone can navigate that blizzard, you can."

"But I-"

"We believe in you Jack." Lucilla said. "_I _believe in you."

Tooth nodded and patted my cheek. "You do good, Jack. You're a fool sometimes, but you have a good heart."

Once again, I felt that burning feeling in my eyes. But this time, I didn't dwell on it.

"Thank you..." I whispered, water dripping off my chin. "Thank you so much..."

...

I was given my own room in North's house. The first thing I did was open the window. Cold air rushed into the room, making me shiver. I stood in the middle of the room, telling myself I was Jack Frost and I could endure the cold, because that's who I was.

Bunnymund must've felt the draft because he pushed his way into my room.

"What are you doing, Jack?" He asked.

I shrugged, because I really didn't know.

Bunnymund walked to the window and snapped it shut. At that moment, I couldn't help but wonder just what the Guardians weren't telling me.

"Bunnymund?" I piped up.

He turned towards me.

"What...What was North talking about? He said he'd tell me when I got my staff back, but...What are you guys keeping from me?"

"North does things for a reason, mate." Bunnymund told me. "He has a reason for keeping information from you, this information especially."

"You know what he's talking about?"

Bunnymund nodded. "He's keeping it from you for your own good."

"But...what will happen if I found out?"

"Who knows?" Bunnymund shrugged. "For now, take North's advice. Don't dwell on anything. You're Jack Frost, and that's it."

"The way you're talking, it's making me think that I'm _not_ Jack Frost."

"You are Jack Frost." Bunnymund said. "Even you're smart enough to know that."

I huffed. "I meant that I'm not _just_ Jack Frost."

"Don't dwell, mate." Bunnymund stepped out the door. "Remember who you are." He closed the door behind him.

"But who am I?" I whispered to myself.

_You are Jack Frost, Spirit of Winter_. A voice replied. It was distant. Like a memory, or an echo.

But how true was that? Who was I _before_ then?

Wait, before?

I shuddered and stood up. North told me not to dwell. I couldn't think about it. My eyes caught the mirror across from me, and for a moment I thought I saw a different person. But a moment later, it looked like me again.

"Seeing things..." I whispered. "I'm Jack Frost, Spirit of Winter. I'm Jack Frost...I'm Jack Frost...I'm Jack Frost..."

...

I lay in my bed, repeating that sentence over and over again under my breath. The only problem was, I had a hard time believing it.

My bedroom door opened. "Jack?"

I turned my head. "Lucilla." I acknowledged.

"You okay?" She asked, closing the door behind her.

"I think so. I'm just...having a hard time dealing with this."

Lucilla nodded. "Remember that day we first met?" She asked.

"Huh?" I looked at her, my mind trying to find the memory.

"You found me sitting in the snow, shivering. I looked up and saw you there, and you came to me, a big smile on your face, and you said-"

"What's a girl like you doing out, shivering in the snow?" I whispered, the memory coming back.

Lucilla grinned and nodded. "Yep. And then you took my hand and led me to Miss Molly. Then you were gone before I could learn your name."

"I came back though."

"Yes, Jack. You came back." She smiled. "Do you remember when we went skating together? Before Miss Molly died? I said it was too warm for skating, and then you froze the ice, and we skated for hours and hours..."

I nodded. I could remember. The memories were clear, crisp, familiar. I smiled.

"And then you got cold, so I had to take you back to the orphanage again." I said.

Lucilla laughed. "Yeah, pretty much." She sighed happily. "Those were some of the best days of my life, Jack."

"Really?" I asked. "Why?"

"I told you already, I ran away from home." Lucilla stated. "You know, angry parents, always fighting, never happy with anything I could do... Marks weren't high enough, that sort of thing."

I nodded.

"So I dropped out of school and ran away from home." She ran a hand through her hair. "I wandered in the snow for three days until you found me. When you told me you were Jack Frost, I... I was really surprised, because I didn't know you even existed!"

"Yeah. Nobody really knows who I am." I said.

"Well, those children believe in you. They're waiting for us to return and set them free."

I smiled. "Yeah. I won't let them down. I'll get my staff back. It's a promise."

Lucilla grinned. "Well, shall we go to the Guardians? I think they're discussing battle plans now."

I nodded. "All right. Let's go." I stood up. Lucilla smiled at me as we headed out the door.

"We're going to get your staff back, aren't we?" She asked.

"Of course." I said "I'm not letting Pitch keep it."

She laughed. "I don't think the others are going to either."

I pushed into the living room where the Guardians waited. They looked up at us as we walked in.

"How are you feeling, Jack?" North asked.

"Weak, powerless, pathetic." I replied. "Shall I go on?"

"No, that's quite enough." He chuckled. He then turned to the Guardians. "We're heading out in the next few hours. If anyone has any ideas for breaking through this storm and finding Pitch, speak up now."

"We already decided: Jack will navigate." Bunnymund said.

I nodded slowly, hoping I wouldn't let them down.

"Jack, do you have any ideas as to where Pitch is hiding out?" North asked.

"Somewhere in town. Probably a tall building. Height enhances the power of the staff." I told him.

"He's probably at the top of the Ryder tower if he's still in Vindale." Lucilla piped up. "That's the tallest building in the town."

North nodded. "Good."

"How big is the storm?" Tooth asked. "I'd like to know what we're up against."

"Jack?" North looked at me.

I took a deep breath and headed for the window. I pushed it open and let the wind smack me in the face. It was cold, but I endured. I reminded myself that I was Jack Frost, and the cold faded away.

And then I felt the storm.

It was big. Huge. No, it was so big I didn't have a word for it. It was covering hundreds of thousands of square miles. More than that. More than any storm that had ever existed. Connected to the freezing north wind, I could feel out the storm, searching for the eye. But just when I'd found it, a massive counter wind blew me back and I flew backwards into the middle of the living room with a cry.

"Jack?!" North cried.

"Ah, ow..." I gasped, rubbing the back of my head where it had slammed into the floor.

Lucilla closed the window, stopping the snow from blowing in.

"What did you see?" North asked.

"It's huge." I stated. "Bigger than anything. Hundreds of thousands of miles."

"Where does it stretch to?"

"Lucilla was right. The eye is over Vindale. The Ryder tower." I stood up slowly, cringing at the headache that throbbed through my skull. I felt like I had one before, but I couldn't remember it. I shook the thought away. "The storm stretches from northern Canada to the southern States."

"Holy mother of..." Lucilla whispered. "How fast did it grow?"

"As I said before, that staff is powerful." I stated. "We have to get it back, and soon. Otherwise that storm will keep growing, and eventually it will cover the entire planet."

"Southern states..." North whispered, shaking his head. "Unbelievable. They've never seen snow before..."

"Well now they have." I muttered.

"Pack up your things." North ordered. "We're heading out in five."


	6. Chapter 6: The Hunt for Pitch

Not Just Fun and Games

Chapter 6: The Hunt for Pitch

North wasn't joking.

Within three minutes, he had us all packed into the sleigh. I had been given a jacket to protect myself from the cold. I felt pathetic, wearing the poofy thing, but as North insisted, they needed me. I couldn't freeze yet, even though I was Jack Frost.

North snapped the reins, and his reindeer shot into the sky. There were no cheers of joy this time around. This was serious business.

Lucilla clung to the seat with an iron grip, her face pale with nerves.

"Jack, how far to the edge of the storm?" North called from the front.

I closed my eyes, focusing as best as I could. If I'd had all of my powers, this wouldn't have taken me more than a millisecond. Instead, it took me around five full seconds.

"We're about... I don't know! I'm bad with distances!" I cried.

North chuckled. "Let us know when we are close then, okay?"

"I don't think you'd need me to tell you that." I stated.

He laughed again. "I suppose not."

We flew fast. So fast that the cold bit into my cheeks like thousands of needles. It felt good, being out in the cold. But the way it felt didn't feel so great. It reminded me that I didn't have my powers. That my powers were gone, as if they'd never been there.

"I think I see the storm!" Tooth suddenly called.

I looked up ahead, and sure enough, there were the black clouds, bubbling slowly over the horizon.

"This guy needs a lesson in snow cloud making." Lucilla stated. "Jack's clouds are so much nicer."

"Yeah, don't joke about that right now." I told her. I unzipped my jacket, hating how warm I'd become because of it.

The storm loomed in front of us. Bunnymund grabbed me by the scruff of my jacket and plopped me in the front seat between himself and North so I could navigate.

"Jack, how would you like to drive the sled?" North asked.

Both myself and Bunnymund stared at him in horror.

"You would let me drive?" I asked.

"He'll kill us!" Bunnymund cried.

"Not on purpose!" I protested.

North chuckled. "We need Jack to find our way to...Ryder tower was it?"

Lucilla nodded.

"So therefore, Jack needs to be able to hold on to the sleigh, that way we don't go off course." North then held the reins out to me. I heard the Guardian's sharp intake of breath and I could feel their nerves.

"Want to give me a crash course?" I asked.

"Oh don't say crash..." Bunnymund said, sounding like he was going to throw up.

"It's not too hard. Pull for slow, loosen for speed, pull left to turn left, pull right to turn right."

"Okay, how about up and down?" I asked.

"Pulling the reigns down makes the sleigh go up. Pushing them up makes the sleigh go down."

"That makes no sense, but okay."

"Jack?" Bunnymund said suddenly, gripping the seats with his paws.

"What?" I asked, taking the reins from North.

"Stay away from my funeral."

"You won't need one." I said with a grin. I loosened the reins and we plunged into the storm.

The winds were ferocious. They howled in my ears and bit at my face. Lucilla bundled herself up tighter in her jacket. Bunnymund, feeling a bit of pity for her, swapped places with Sandy to keep her warm. I personally, held onto the reins. If North was nervous about giving his sleigh over to me, he didn't show it. I closed my eyes, creating a mental picture of the storm in my mind. The winds carved paths through the snow down below. There was so much of it, at least ten feet. Way more in some places. I pulled the reins down and the sled went up, far away from the snow below.

And then I sat there, with my eyes closed, a picture of the ground below fresh in my mind. I heard the distant sounds of my fellow Guardians talking, but I didn't focus on them. I focused on what was in front of me, feeling, seeing...

And at that moment, I was the wind. The sleigh blew with the straight north wind which I could easily feel. There was a lot of wind shear due to the storm, but I was always quick enough to compensate.

Snow got caught in my hair and on my clothes as I flew with the wind, standing strong and steady, holding the reins of North's sleigh.

Northern towns and villages whipped below me, and several times, I saw people braving the storm to search for food. I hoped they'd make it.

And the time flashed by. I wasn't tired. I stayed strong, avoiding tall buildings of northern cities as we flew. The Guardians had gone silent. I knew they weren't worried about crashing anymore. My mind was on Pitch, and the children and Vindale. We had to get to Vindale, and that was my goal.

The wind blew my hair every which way, my frozen bangs snapping like whips against my forehead. Snow clung to my clothes and buried itself in every nook and cranny it could find hold in. I was too focused on the wind and the sleigh to notice.

And so, we flew.

...

"Jack, take a break." North said, breaking my focus. The sleigh swerved slightly, making its passengers gasp in surprise, but I quickly regained control and brought it down to a safe stop on a solidly frozen lake.

"Well, I'm impressed." Lucilla said, detaching herself from Bunnymund. "You drove Santa's sleigh!"

"Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I." I said sheepishly, running a hand over my head.

"And we're not dead." Bunnymund muttered.

"Yet." I said with a grin.

If rabbits could pale, Bunnymund would've done so.

Tooth and North burst out laughing at the expression on the rabbits face. Lucilla and I joined in. Bunnymund then grinned and laughed as well. Sandy didn't talk much, but he was clearly amused by what had just transpired.

"Why'd we stop anyway?" I asked North once we'd all settled down.

"Lucilla was getting cold." Bunnymund stated. "We figured you were as well."

"I was fine." I stated, watching the snow continue to violently blow around us. "Besides, we can't stay for long anyway. This snow is piling up really fast. It'll bury the sleigh in ten minutes unless we get going again."

North nodded. "Fair enough."

I pulled off my jacket and tossed it to Lucilla. I'm sure she needed it a lot more than I did.

"All right, let's get going." North called out.

I jumped back into the sleigh and grabbed the reins. The reindeer swayed restlessly, waiting for the signal to go.

"Everyone in?" I asked.

Four responses came and Sandy just glittered, waiting for what was next.

I snapped the reins, and the reindeer shot into the sky. I had to spend a few seconds focusing on getting us high into the air. Finally, I shut my eyes and became one with the storm once again.

I couldn't help but wonder whether it was boring for the other Guardians. I had a feeling North was kicking back and relaxing while keeping his eyes locked on me to make sure I wasn't doing anything dumb with his sleigh. Bunnymund was probably continuing to keep Lucilla warm as we rocketed through the icy air.

We were about halfway to Vindale when the cold really started to set in. I felt my muscles stiffening, even though I kept reminding myself that I was Jack Frost and cold didn't affect me. It had a way of doing so anyway.

I shuddered and was dragged from my focus. My eyes opened to whiteout conditions where I couldn't see my nose in front of my face.

"Jack?" North said suddenly, realizing what had happened.

"I-I can't..." I gasped.

"JACK!" North cried. He quickly took my place and tossed me in the back. Lucilla threw my jacket on top of me and pressed her hands to my face to try to warm me up. I just couldn't stop shivering. I couldn't think, couldn't feel anything except the thump as the sleigh landed once more.

"Jack? Jack are you okay?"

I shuddered again and opened my eyes. "Why am I so cold?" I whispered.

"You still don't have your powers, Jack." North stated.

"But if I don't have my power, how can I still see using the wind?"

"You can't control them, but you are still connected to them. That's how you can still see using the wind."

I sat up slowly. "I have to keep going. _We_ have to keep going."

"Jack, you..." Tooth brushed a piece of frozen hair from my eye. "You have nothing to prove to us."

"Maybe not." I said, pulling the jacket on. "But maybe I have to prove myself. I have to find Pitch, get my staff back, and stop this storm before it hurts anyone else."

"Then go, Jack Frost." North stated. "If you start to feel faint, don't be afraid to set the sled down."

I nodded and climbed into the front once more. I snapped the reins and we shot off into the sky once more.

...

And time passed. We shot through the clouds, dodged buildings, and gradually, bit by bit, we made our way to the town of Vindale.

The snow was deeper here, so deep I couldn't keep track of it. It was so deep, it rose over the tops of buildings, almost to the top of the Ryder tower. We could easily land in front of it, but North and I both agreed. It would've been best not to risk it.

We landed just outside the Vindale orphanage. This place, protected by countless trees, was still visible. It was, however, still coated in the ice.

"Can we break the door down?" Lucilla asked. "We could use it as shelter."

"Doubt it." I sighed. "Well have to dig a snow cave."

We all helped with that. There was a large enough drift that we dug our way in. The snow was packed solid, and we had to kick it and chip it away before we could slip inside, sleigh and all.

"And now, we need to formulate a plan of attack." North stated. "Pitch is probably at the top of Ryder tower. We'll have to send a few people up there to check it out."

"I don't think we'll have to." I said. "He probably already knows we're here."

"What makes you say that?" Lucilla asked.

"Chances are, he already saw North's sled. If he didn't, he probably would've felt the disturbance in the storm from when we passed by." I tapped my foot, yanking a chunk of ice from behind my ear.

"What do you suggest then?" North asked.

"I would head straight up there, next chance we get. That way, we might be able to surprise him and grab my staff. After that, we can defeat him and he'll be out of our hair again."

"Hopefully for good this time..." Bunnymund muttered.

I nodded in agreement.

If I had my powers, maybe I could've felt it coming. Unfortunately, I didn't.

A wave of shadows suddenly whipped into the snow cave. Their target?

Me.

They were like ribbons, or ropes. One of them grabbed my wrist while I tried to dodge another one. I cried out as several more grabbed my other arm and both of my legs.

"JACK!" North cried.

And I was yanked from the cave by the shadows. They dragged me through the snow, up into the air, and through a window.

Then, I was tied up in the middle of a room, shadows snaking across my body and covering every little inch of me they could find. And then, I couldn't see. I couldn't hear, or think. There was just black.

Nothing but black.


	7. Chapter 7: Sealed Memories

Not Just Fun and Games

Chapter 7: Sealed Memories

I didn't know how long I spent, sitting in that dark void all by myself. I tried to struggle, but something held fast, squeezing me tighter. Eventually, it got to the point where I couldn't move at all. Not even my fingers. Or even my toes. It was as if I were being crushed. A nagging fear at the back of my mind made my heart race, as if at some point in my life, I'd had a fear of being trapped. Or maybe that was a current fear. I was so used to being free that confinement was terrifying. I couldn't move, or even run.

And so, my heart continued to pound in my chest.

My breath came in more rapid gasps, though I told myself that breathing too much was foolish. I'd use up the oxygen faster. But I couldn't help it.

And then, I screamed. Which is probably exactly what Pitch wanted.

I knew Pitch had me. The shadows were too dark to not be Pitch. If they were anyone else but him, that meant there was something eviler than him in this world, and I highly doubted that was even possible.

The shadow ropes held me tighter and I felt as if it were trying to squeeze the life out of me. I swear the black walls were closing in. My heart continued to race and I felt tears burning at the back of my eyes.

I screamed again, this time, my voice not sounding like my own. It was laced with terror, and choked with unspoken sobs.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" I wailed.

Then, the shadows began to break. I could finally see light. They slid off my face and head slowly, the frozen room appearing before my eyes. I squinted hopefully, thinking I'd get to see Lucilla, or North waiting for me.

All I got was Pitch.

"Hello, Jack Frost." He said, his cruel grin sliding across his features.

"Pitch." I hissed, wanting nothing more than to reach over and punch him several times over. Unfortunately, the shadows still held my body in place.

"How did you enjoy that little void? I made it just for you..."

"Let me go, you bastard!" I snarled.

"Such harsh words for such a young boy!" He tutted.

"Shut up. Like you care."

"You're right." Pitch grinned again. "I don't."

The shadows squeezed me again and I yelped in pain. They didn't stop their squeezing, making me unable to breathe. I could feel a cold sweat starting out on my forehead. A moment later, the shadows stopped crushing me. I took in heavy breaths, quickly scanning the room I was in, spotting my staff sitting hook up on an altar, a blue beam of light emanated from the tip, shooting through a hole in the roof, fuelling the super storm.

"I can't help but wonder though, Jack..." Pitch said, scratching his chin. "How much do you really know?"

"About what?" I hissed. "I know a lot of things. I know that storm is going to destroy the whole world unless it's stopped. I know that you're the most horrible thing to ever walk this Earth. So tell me, Pitch, what part of anything am I missing?"

"Jack Frost, I was talking about your past." Pitch said in a teasing, lilting tone as he walked towards me. "Your history, Jack. Your history."

"What about it?" I hissed. "I've always been Jack Frost. It's been that way for years. That's my history, Pitch."

Pitch nodded slowly. "Yes, I agree... To a degree of course." He waved his arm in the air and began walking away from me. I watched him, glaring at the back of his head. "The thing is Jack, you're not the first Jack Frost to walk this Earth."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Some of us, like myself, have been here since the world first came into being. And believe me, Jack, that's a long time to be hanging around." Pitch grinned. "Fortunately, humans have quite a belief in fear, so I managed to stick around this long."

I watched him carefully, wondering what he was getting at.

"Oh, there were _many_ spiritual beings around in those days! But as civilizations died out along with their beliefs, one by one, they all just...disappeared." He snapped his fingers.

A wave of horror washed through me, as my mind suddenly rushed over the thought of myself fading from existence.

"All except for one." Pitch said, holding up a long, pale finger. "Jack Frost."

"Me?" I asked.

"Ah, you could only wish, Jack." Pitch said with a cruel smile. "No, the Jack Frost I am talking about was a being who was very, very different from you. He was older, and he carried himself like a true spirit!" Pitch approached me again, grinning broadly. "You see, Jack Frost was a being of fear. The people feared winter, just as they feared nightmares, or death." He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. "You had nothing to do with it."

Then, an image rushed through my head. An image of a man with snow white hair and a beard. Icicles covered his body, and his clothes were pure white. He was covered in frost, and his eyes... It took everything I could not to scream. There was no light in them. Just cold, icy darkness.

Pitch released me, and the visions were gone. But I couldn't get the image out of my head.

"Jack Frost was my partner in crime. Together we roamed the world, spreading fear into the hearts of humans." Pitch laughed. "Oh, we loved it! Such fun we always had!"

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"I thought you would never ask!" Pitch said with glee. Then the smile faded from his face, his eyes turning sharp, filled with hatred. "Humans did it."

"Huh?" I frowned, confused.

"You see, as technology advanced, humans soon learned how to heat their homes so they wouldn't freeze over the winter." Pitch tapped his fingers together. "Winter became less terrifying, and more of a...minor inconvenience, I should say."

"Inconvenience..." I muttered.

"People stopped believing in Jack Frost." Pitch said. "I'm sure you know what comes next."

"He...disappeared."

"Exactly." Pitch said, holding up his hand. "One moment he was there, and the next..." He snapped his fingers. "Gone."

I felt myself shiver.

"But then, the impossible happened!" Pitch cried, throwing his arms in the air. "The people began believing in Jack Frost again! Not as many as before, of course, but I figured that soon enough, my old friend would return, and we'd wreak havoc on the world once more!" He stopped for a moment, then turned around, his face angry and filled with hate.

"Who should come along...but you, Jack Frost." Pitch hissed. "An echo of the Jack Frost that once was. A being of _fun_ instead of _fear_. It was insulting!"

I watched him pace around in fury for a few moments. "So what?" I asked.

The shadows squeezed me again, making me cry out.

"Many times I asked myself!" Pitch cried, the shadows squeezing ever tighter. "How did a boy like _you_ become Jack Frost?!"

I couldn't breathe, I saw my vision darkening. Then the shadows let go once more.

"Because, Jack Frost, you weren't always Jack Frost."

"W-What are you saying?" I gasped, breathing heavily.

"I'm saying that you were a single, pathetic, MORTAL!" Pitch roared.

"M-Mortal?" My eyes widened, something tugging at the back of my mind.

"North didn't tell you, did he? Not so surprising, seeing as he was the one who gave you your powers in the first place!" Pitch cried. "Oh there are many, many risks involved in giving spiritual power to mortals. For one, if they were to find out who they were before..." Pitch grinned cruelly. "They'd be rendered mortal once more."

"So you're telling me where I came from." I whispered. "To turn me mortal again." A heavier tug yanked at the back of my mind, memories wanting to break free. Memories I didn't know existed.

"Did you ever wonder why you lost your power, Jack?" Pitch asked.

"How do you know about that?"

"Isn't it obvious? If you hadn't, the air in here would be freezing cold right now. Although, it is anyway because of the storm, but you know what I meant."

I glared at him.

"It's because you were mortal once. Your spirit merely merged with the power of ice, snow and wind. Because of that, your appearance changed, and North locked away your memories."

That explained the fuzzy beginning. And the feeling of just popping into existence.

"And you bounced happily, north and south, north and south, bringing snow to everyone around you. You had no recollection of who you were, or even where you came from. You were just content to _exist_."

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.

"Because I knew you when you were a human boy. You showed no fear, there was a... _determination_ in you that infuriated me!" Pitch snarled. "But now, I know, the key to unlocking a mortal spirits memories is a name..." He pointed at me. "Your name."

And I knew that no matter what I did, I would hear exactly what Pitch had to say.

With a cruel grin, his mouth formed a name, a name that caused the memories to burst into my mind as if a dam had broken.

I saw images of a dark haired woman, I expected it was my mother, smiling down at me while she looked after me. I saw a man with a scraggly beard. I guessed it was my father.

But the normal images ended there.

When I'd been a child, I could see everything. I always knew when someone was feeling sad, or when they were happy. I saw things for what they were. I saw the truth.

I'd always known North existed, as well as Bunnymund and Tooth. Sandy too. I'd seen them all by the time I was ten, and every Christmas, I would rush downstairs just to say hello to North. I would stay awake, waiting for Sandy to come and put me to sleep. I would help Bunnymund hide eggs all over the neighbours' gardens. Whenever I lost a tooth, I would stay up late, waiting for Tooth to come so I could see her shimmering wings.

But most of all, I could see Pitch. He always came to my little sister and tormented her with awful dreams. I always stayed by her side at night, protecting her from Pitch.

Oh, how he hated me.

Whenever I slept, horrible dreams kept me from sleeping properly. Even when I grew into a teenager, his dreams still tormented me. They had tortured me so much, that I'd become broken. My mind shattered like glass into millions of tiny pieces. I think I ended up in an asylum.

My family left me there and never came to visit. The dreams still came.

But then, when I was eighteen, I received a visit from an old friend; North. He brought me to his house at the North Pole where I was protected from Pitch. But even so, I felt out of place there. I was happy, but out of place.

Then he offered me a position as a spirit. He told me that the world needed someone to bring winter every year, as it couldn't be left up to just chance.

North dressed me in brown pants and a dark blue hoodie. I'd helped him pick out the outfit. I knew I was going to become Jack Frost.

He made me step outside in my bare feet. I was cold, and I felt weak and helpless, but North pressed my staff into my hands. Then, he told me to become Jack Frost, and the cold washed over me, filling me from the inside and taking my breath away.

And the memories ended, and I stared at Pitch with wide eyes, feeling colder than I'd ever felt in my life.

"Welcome back." He said, grinning. "How nice to see you again."

And a wave of fear took over my mind. I realized he could once again torment me with horrible nightmares.

"No..." I whispered. "Pitch, please..."

And the shadows crept over my face once again, dragging me into blackness.

Into a nightmare.


	8. Chapter 8: The Nightmare

**A/N: The following chapter may be disturbing to some viewers. Reader discretion is advised.**

Not Just Fun and Games

Chapter 8: The Nightmare

Who was I? I didn't even know my name. I was alone, cold and lost.

"Hello?" I called, glancing around. "Is anyone there?"

I couldn't move. It brought back memories. A horrid memory of a horrid time in my life.

My time in the Asylum.

I was locked in a strait jacket, frozen in place. My hair was plastered to my forehead from my sweat. I hated being contained. I hated it. Fear raced through me as I struggled against the bindings. I screamed loudly, fighting...fighting...fighting to no avail. I couldn't move. The walls were closing in.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed.

And the torture continued...

...

When my mind came back to me, I had tears sliding down my cheeks. My hoodie was wet where they all landed. And still, I hung in limbo, in the black void Pitch had created just for me. I knew that at any moment, it could take the form of some of my worst fears. Terror rushed through me and I sobbed once again. I still couldn't move, and that made me feel helpless. And the fear continued to build until I couldn't even think.

I couldn't remember my own name.

A memory tugged at the back of my mind, a memory so distant I barely felt it. It was a memory from me as a human. Those memories were the only ones I could find right about now.

_Focus on something certain,_ I'd told my little sister. _Like your name, or my name. Think really hard about it, and never forget it. It'll make you stronger._

"My name..." I whispered. "What's my name?"

I didn't even know my own name.

My heart began to race from the lack of certainty. I trembled, feeling the shadow ropes tight around me. Once again, the walls started to close in. I choked, squeezing my eyes shut tight, trying to forget about the shadows.

_Why am I scared?_ I thought. Then I remembered Pitch, and his cruel eyes grinning at me as his mouth formed my name.

My powers!

And once again, I was left helpless.

...

"Hey look! It snowed again today!"

"Cool! Let's go make a snowman!"

I smiled happily, watching the two children run around their front yard, packing up snow. As I watched, I couldn't help but cringe at how wrong they were doing it. Their snowball looked more like a hay bale than a snowball. Smiling, I approached them.

"Hello there. Would you like some help?" I asked.

"Is this big enough, sis?" The little boy called out.

"Yep! That's big enough!" The girl replied.

"So we can build the next one now!" The boy cried.

I picked up some snow and held it out to them. "Here, I've already started the second snowball."

The little girl began rolling a chunk around. They didn't even know I was there.

I watched them work on the snowman, trying to smile, but at the same time feeling very, very lonely. The two of them worked together to push the snowman's head up onto the body.

"I'll go ask mom for a carrot!" The boy called out, racing towards the house.

"Okay!" The girl cried.

I smiled at the boy as he approached, thinking he'd finally see me.

And then he passed right through me, as if I wasn't even there.

The front door clicked shut and I stepped towards the girl. "Can you hear me?" I asked.

She didn't respond, smoothing out the snowman, humming 'let it snow' under her breath.

"Hello?" I said, frowning.

The door suddenly snapped open.

"I got the carrot, sis! Mom even gave me raisins for the mouth!"

"Cool! Help me out with it!" The girl said, grabbing two dark rocks and sticking them in the head for eyes.

As the kids worked, I watched sadly, wondering just why these kids couldn't see me.

"Hey sis?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know why the snow falls?"

"Of course I do. Everyone knows that."

"What is it?"

"Snow is caused by the ice fairy."

"Ice fairy?" The boy frowned. "That's lame."

"Lame, but true."

Wait, but what about me? I was the one who brought the snow! So why...?

Then it dawned on me. They couldn't see me. They ran right through me.

I looked down at my hands, seeing straight through them. I was fading.

"NO!" I cried, just before the world went dark.

...

I jumped awake once more with a loud yelp. All of my fears were coming to life. I sat in that dark void, held in place by something I couldn't see. Tears ran down my face and I once again felt trapped. I didn't know what was real anymore. Did I even exist?

I felt myself stiffening from lack of motion. I tried to stretch, but once again, the shadow ropes caught me. I whimpered, a choked sob passing through my lips.

...

She was pretty. Really pretty. Her brown hair looked soft and smooth, and her eyes were bright and cheery.

Yet, I couldn't remember her name for the life of me.

She seemed to really like snow. Whenever it fell from the sky, she would stick out her arms and try to catch the flakes on her tongue. I wanted to join her, but I knew I couldn't. If I'd even so much as approached her, she'd take in my bare feet and raggedy appearance. She'd know I was messed up in the head.

I followed her, wanting to see her as much as I could. She didn't notice, which made me happy. I liked watching her. She was interesting.

What was her name again?

Day after day I followed her. When she went home, I waited in the bushes outside her house until she came out again. When she went into a store, I waited for her to come back out, and then I'd follow her once more.

I knew the people at the Asylum were probably looking for me. After all, I'd escaped from that horrid place. I wasn't confined to my nightmares anymore. I could wander free, happy, and watching this really pretty girl.

It got to the point where I began to freak myself out. I had two thoughts in my head at once. The first was to just go, and leave her behind. The other was to continue watching and waiting, hoping I'd get the chance to speak to her.

It was then that I saw her get attacked.

I raced into the alleyway after her and her attackers, and I fought them off as best as I could, receiving several injuries for my efforts. Then I smiled down at the girl, hoping to see her smiling back at me.

But she wasn't. She looked scared.

"You're from the Asylum!" She cried. "Get out of here, freak!" Then she jumped to her feet and took off, running away.

And that's where the police found me. Lying in the ally, defeated, rejected.

Hopeless and lost.

...

I was crying harder than I'd cried in my life. It was as if I was still in the Asylum, trapped and unable to leave.

I'd forgotten all about that girl until just now. I couldn't believe I'd done that in my past. Then again, I figured that a mind broken beyond repair from nightmares would do something like that. Although it still freaked me out.

And then I realized it was all slowly coming back to me. The nightmares...They were caused by someone. But who was it?

All of a sudden, I couldn't breathe. I tried to draw breath, but it wouldn't work. I struggled against the shadow ropes, but I couldn't move. I panicked, my heart thundering in my chest as I struggled to breathe.

And I struggled, and struggled.

And then the world collapsed.

...

And then, I was in pain.

It felt like ice all over my body. The heat was unbearable, stabbing pain into every inch of me.

I screamed, trying to stop the hurt, the fire...

I choked on smoke, snatching for the doorknob, trying to escape. I finally grabbed onto it, but it was burning hot. I held on and turned it anyway, the door opening to a hallway of more fire. It rushed over me, licking my skin and blinding me completely.

I curled into a ball.

"MAKE IT STOP!"

...

And then it was cold, very, very cold.

My lungs weren't filled with smoke, but it didn't feel like I had enough air either. I almost opened my mouth to take a breath, and then I realized I was underwater.

I moved my head around, searching for the surface. I faintly saw distant light and began to swim upwards.

My chest began to burn, and I knew I didn't have much time left. My heart raced, though I tried to steady it to conserve oxygen. The water pressed against my chest, as if it were trying to force the air from my lungs. I held it in, still swimming towards the surface.

But then, something inside me gave up.

A stream of bubbles came out of my mouth as I took a breath.

And then I sunk into darkness.

...

I choked as I regained consciousness once more. The shadow ropes pressed against my chest in the same way the water had.

I wanted this to end. I didn't want to be afraid anymore. I wondered if this was what I'd felt like before my mind broke and I'd been put into the Asylum. It didn't feel good. I was scared of cracking, of going crazy, and somehow, that fear made it much, much worse.

I screamed again, fighting the shadow ropes to no avail. I screamed until my throat was sore and my voice turned into a faint squeak. And then I hung limply in the ropes, all the strength in me, gone. Who wants life, when all it brings is torture and pain?

But then, a voice broke through the darkness.

_Just remember, you are Jack Frost._

Who was Jack Frost?

_Say it: You are Jack Frost._

Was he talking to me?

_You are Jack Frost._

Am I?

"I am..." I whispered. "Jack Frost..."

I didn't think it had any significance to me. But I said it again, just because if felt nice to have something that felt certain. Something to hold onto.

"I am Jack Frost." I whispered, falling into blackness once more.

...

I was back in the Asylum, tied up to a wall. I screamed and struggled, trying to get free. People came in, and they stared at me critically, as if wondering what to do with me.

But then I remembered something.

"I am Jack Frost." I whispered. "I am not afraid."

The world faded to black, then it turned white. I was back with the children again. They were still building their snowman. They turned and saw me there.

"Who are you?" The girl asked.

"I am Jack Frost." I told her.

"Cool! Want to help us?"

"I would love to." I stepped forward, and the world faded away again.

But who was I really? There had to be something more than what I thought.

"No," I whispered. "I am Jack Frost."

Then I saw the girl again. She was walking down the street, her brown hair bobbing with every step. I grinned and ran over to her.

"Hello." I said.

"Hello." She smoothed some of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm Jack Frost."

She smiled. "Nice to meet you, Jack."

Then I couldn't breathe. My hands snapped to my throat and I leaned over, trying to breathe. It wasn't working. My heart raced, but then I remembered it was all a dream.

_Focus,_ I thought. _I am Jack Frost. I am Jack Frost..._

And I was in the room of fire. I laughed.

"I'm Jack Frost!" I cried, a blast of cold air putting the fire out.

Then I was underwater. I didn't need to tell myself who I was that time. All I had to do was walk up stairs made of ice, and I emerged on the surface. I laughed and cried with joy.

"I AM JACK FROST!" I cried.

_Good. You remember. Now wake up!_

My eyes snapped open, and I saw Lucilla and the Guardians leaning above me.

And then I cried once more.


	9. Chapter 9: Striking Back

Not Just Fun and Games

Chapter 9: Striking Back

North helped me sit up as I wiped the tears from my face. They were all smiling brightly at me, as if seeing me again was the greatest thing in the world.

"Wait..." I ran a hand through my hair. "How long have I been out of it?"

"A couple days." North said. "Maybe more."

"How did I get here?"

"Pitch brought you back." North said, sighing. "I suppose you know now, don't you?"

"What? That I used to be human?" I asked.

The Guardians were silent. They scuffed the ice at their feet with their toes.

"Who cares who I was before," I stated. "What matters is that right now, I'm Jack Frost. And that's who I always will be."

The Guardians smiled.

"And that, Jack, is the reason you came back to us." North said, a warm smile crinkling his features.

"Came back?" I asked.

"Pitch brought you back unconscious." Lucilla stated, her eyes full of pain. "But it was more than that."

"You were trapped in a nightmare." Tooth said, patting my cheek. "It was...horrible to watch."

I bowed my head. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." North said, patting my shoulder. "It's not your fault. After all, you should know now that Pitch has always had a vendetta against you. It's the reason I gave you your power in the first place, so you could protect yourself."

"Yeah. No kidding." I muttered. "But I guess he found out, didn't he?"

"Yes. He did." North sighed, sitting down on an ice chair that had clearly been roughly fashioned from a snowball. "I was hoping he never would, that way you'd always be safe."

"Jack used to be attacked by Pitch?" Lucilla asked.

"Every night, every day." I said. "Nightmare after nightmare. Not a moment of peace."

"But...why?" Lucilla whispered.

"Because I protected my sister from him." I said. "And I wasn't afraid of him. At least not until he tormented my sleep."

"That's awful..." Lucilla whispered.

"Awful?" Bunnymund tossed his head. "I'd never seen a kid more broken beyond repair."

Tooth nodded slowly, wiping her eye.

"I could see the Guardians much like you can, Lucilla." I told her. "I saw everything that ever happened."

"As I said," North smiled. "Rare gift."

Lucilla flushed.

"I only ever knew of two kids with that power. You, and Jack."

I shook my head, standing up. "Will I lose my powers again, North?"

"I'm not sure. You seem to have a hold on who you are."

"I'm Jack Frost." I said. "Nobody else."

"Keep that in mind, and no, you won't lose your powers."

"Should my memories be sealed again?" I asked.

"That is your choice. Although if I did, you would lose everything up until the point where you wake up once more."

"So then...I would forget about all of this too? Everything after I became Jack Frost?"

"Yes."

"Then no! It's not happening!" I cried, crossing my arms.

North chuckled. "And I won't make you. Just always remember who you really are."

"Jack Frost." I murmured.

"There you go."

"Okay, now that Jack's awake, what do we do about Pitch? That storm is still growing." Tooth stated.

"Pitch is at the top of Ryder tower." I said. "Just as Lucilla predicted. So we have to get up there."

"And your staff is there as well?" North asked.

I nodded. "Yes. It's sitting on an altar fuelling the storm."

"Then we'd best be off as soon as possible. Everyone into the sleigh. Jack, you're driving."

"Awesome." I said, leaping into the sleigh and grabbing the reins. Nobody said anything this time around, figuring they could trust me with the sleigh. I hoped that I wouldn't let them down.

I snapped the reins and we took off into the storm once again. I barely needed to focus this time around. I knew where Pitch was. I was drawn towards my staff like a magnet. I heard Lucilla whoop as we looped around the Ryder tower. It was still encased in the magic ice. It would be impossible to break through.

But I knew where a literal loop hole lay in wait.

I followed the beam of light created by my staff. We'd have to land on a pathetically small roof.

"Jack, I've landed on many roofs in my lifetime, but even I'm not that good..." North whispered.

"We have to try." I said.

I reined in the reindeer, slowing them down as we headed for the roof. But we were still too fast.

"HOLD ON!" I cried.

We slammed into the roof so hard, my head smashed into the front of the sled. I saw stars in front of my eyes as North and I yanked hard on the reins, slowing the reindeer down. They looked quite upset, but relieved at the same time.

"Let's not do that again, okay?" Lucilla shuddered.

The Guardians murmured their agreement.

"This way!" I called, leaping out of the sled and running across the icy roof. I could only hope Pitch wouldn't find us. But knowing him, he already knew we were here.

I heard a yelp behind me. We turned around quickly, prepared for a fight.

Lucilla was gone.

"Did she fall?" Tooth asked.

Bunnymund shook his head, his eyes wide with fear.

Then a dark hole opened beneath his feet and he was yanked downwards into the building.

Then North disappeared.

"RUN!" I cried, tearing up the path. Tooth managed to catch up, but Sandy didn't. I jumped around holes opening in the roof beneath me, Tooth occasionally delivering a sharp tackle to set me off balance so I didn't fall into one.

I could see the beam that marked the location of my staff. I ran fast, but I knew that Pitch knew what I wanted. Because I needed to get that staff, and I needed to get it fast. Because of that, black holes kept opening beneath my feet, forcing me to jump over them as quickly as I could.

"JACK!" Tooth cried.

I spun around and snatched Tooth up, ripping the shadows from her tiny form. She flailed frantically before I let her go to fly. She gave me a grateful nod, but I knew that she too hated confinement. Not being able to fly on her own probably made her feel helpless, just like I did when-

The world dropped out from under me and I scrambled to find something latch onto.

"NO!" Tooth cried as she spotted me, hanging on to a small ledge of ice. I could hear the sound of it creaking and groaning as I tried to pull myself away. Tooth grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me up, but there was very little a small fairy could do to pull someone out of a black hole.

A shadow snapped the little fairy up and dragged her into the hole.

"NO! TOOTH!" I cried.

I would not be dragged into blackness again. No, no, no!

My fingernails dug into the ice as I began to yank myself from the hole. I felt one of them break, and I winced with pain, scrambling to get out of the hole. Finally, Pitch's shadows let go of me, sending me flying several feet into the air. When I landed, I slid across the ice on my hands and knees, cringing.

But I had to move.

I jumped up, a small limp in my steps as I ran towards the hole where my staff was. Another dark void opened in front of me and I leapt over it, diving headfirst towards the hole. I could hear every heartbeat as I caught sight of my staff. I fell head first and practically landed on top of it. My staff fell out of the altar, the blue light disappearing with a bright flash of light.

"Jack, how nice to see you again."

"Shut up!" I hissed, my hand searching for my staff. My eyes widened when I saw that Pitch had already obtained it.

"Such a nice toy you have here, Jack..." Pitch said, rotating my staff in his hands. "So powerful... It's more powerful than the Jack Frost I knew..."

"Pitch..."

"In your hands, this lovely object would never be able to reach its full potential." He waved it, creating a jet of icy air that launched ice crystals all over the walls.

"Where are my friends?" I asked.

"Oh them?" Pitch laughed. "They're over there." He casually flicked his hand at a dark ball that revolved in the center of the room. I could faintly hear their screams and shouts as they were tormented by nightmares.

"Pitch, let them go..." I whispered.

"Why should I?" Pitch asked, still waving the staff around.

"Oh right. I forgot." I rolled my eyes. "You're evil. You don't care about the children of the world. You don't care about _anything_!"

"Now Jack, if I didn't care about anything, we wouldn't be having this conversation, now would we?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I care about what happened all those years ago, Jack. When you and the rest of the Guardians tore my plan to shreds!"

"What do you expect?!" I cried. "You were threatening the children! We had to act!"

Pitch pointed my staff at me. A blast of cold air whipped across me, freezing my clothes, my hair, and leaving ice crystals on my skin. I blinked slowly as Pitch ceased his attack on me. My clothes crinkled as I lowered my arms.

"Pitch..." I whispered. "Are you that angry?"

"I'M FURIOUS!" Pitch roared, slamming the end of my staff on the ground, creating a blizzard in the room. I winced slightly, feeling the pain in the wind, the snow, the ice... It was being abused and it wasn't happy about it.

The storm ended as abruptly as it began, leaving me shaking.

"Especially seeing as you managed to evade me! For all of this time!" He thrust the staff at me once again. I stumbled backwards, slamming into the wall as the ice whipped across my body. I think a few ice crystals cut my cheeks. But the wind didn't like it. It was crying out in pain as it attacked the person who was its friend. Me.

I had to stop Pitch. Because I knew that if the wind got angry, nobody, not even me, would be able to control it. It would destroy everything...

Pitch sent another wave of ice and snow towards me. I braced myself against it, pushing through it, trying to reach him. I was thrown back, again and again and again.

When I was knocked back once more, my head hit the wall and I collapsed to the ground. I was shivering, and my vision was blurry.

"You won't escape me this time, Jack Frost!" Pitch roared, pointing the staff at me again.

I cried out as the biggest blast of cold air hit me yet. It threw me back against the wall. Pinned there, the ice slowly began to encase my body. I wondered if I would survive, my breathing becoming laboured as ice snaked across my chest. It crawled across my cheeks, my neck, my legs, all over. It wouldn't stop.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the end to come.

I heard Pitch's horrified cry. I opened my eyes to see ice snaking up his arms. I could only watch as the power of the staff attacked his arms, then the rest of his body. He let out one last scream before the ice fully encased him and stopped forming.

And then the staff fell from his frozen hands and dropped to the floor with a woody clatter.

The ice on my body began to crack. I yanked my arm out and used my free hand to continue pulling the ice away. The storm was still going, although it was no longer fuelled by the staff. I knew it would sustain itself for many, many years unless it was stopped.

The dark ball at the center of the room began to dissolve. Lucilla fell out first, trembling with fear. Bunnymund came next, quickly helping the girl up. North fell with a grunt, followed by Sandy and Tooth who didn't say a thing. They stared at me with wide eyes. I could only imagine what I looked like, pale, covered in ice and snow. I probably looked like I'd attacked myself.

"Are you guys all right?" I asked.

They all nodded, standing up slowly, still trembling from the effects of Pitch's nightmares.

"What happened to Pitch?" North asked, his voice faint.

I pointed at the frozen spirit at the center of the room. "The staff turned on him."

North nodded. "It does that to anyone but its true master." He smiled at me.

I looked down at the staff lying on the ground. I stepped towards it, picking it up. It felt good in my hands, familiar. I tapped it on the ground, and the wind blew around me, welcoming me back, but also punishing me for letting it get stolen. I wouldn't let it happen again.

"Guess I have something else to do, now don't I?" I asked, grinning.

The Guardians smiled, Lucilla looking hopeful.

I turned, and with a jet of icy wind, I flew up and out of the hole Pitch had been using to fuel the storm. I flew high into the air, straight up into the clouds. I raised the staff high above me, and a bright light shot out the end of it, exploding into a shockwave that parted the clouds and raced around the earth. As I stood there, I felt more power than I'd ever known I'd had, rushing out of me and into the staff.

The world below me shattered like thousands of panes of glass. I knew it was the ice Pitch had created breaking. That was good. So now life could go on.

But then, I began to fall. Slowly at first, but I couldn't muster the strength to stop myself, so I fell.

I fell into the padded insides of North's sleigh.

"Nice catch..." I said sleepily.

"Nice explosion," North chuckled.

I grinned, then I let out a sigh. Pitch was gone. The world was still covered in ice and snow but that would melt with time. I didn't know how long it would take, but I knew it would be a long time before I left the Arctic Circle to bring snow once again.

"Tired, Jack?" Lucilla asked.

"Yeah." I replied.

"It's to be expected." North murmured. "When there is no need for a Guardian, we sleep restfully until we're needed again."

"So you're saying...?" I glanced at him through blurry eyes.

"Yes, Jack. The world doesn't need a winter spirit right now."

"It needs to thaw." Bunnymund chuckled.

"Ah, yeah..." I felt a smirk creeping up on my face. "Guess it can't do that with me around, now can it?"

"Nope."

I laughed, the sound coming out weak. "Well then...Can you promise me this?" I asked.

"What is it?" Tooth asked.

"Will you all be there when I wake up?"

The Guardians smiled down at me, Lucilla grinning broadly.

"Count on it." She said.

The Guardians nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, guys..." I sighed, closing my eyes.

And the world faded away.


	10. Chapter 10: Awakening

Not Just Fun and Games

Chapter 10: Awakening

I was comfortable. I was lying in a bed of snow, the wind blowing my hair across my face. It was peaceful, gentle... I smiled, snuggling deeper into the comfortable bed.

But yet, there was something else. A faint, nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I was forgetting something...

Oh yeah, that's right... Pitch had stolen my staff... Did I still have it?

My hand closed around the rough wood. I smiled as the power flowed through me, welcoming me home. Yes, I still had it. No wait, I'd retrieved it. Pitch had been frozen because of it. Served him right.

I opened my eyes slowly, very slowly. I squinted at the bright light, cringing as I raised my arm to block it out. I was stiff, as if I'd been sleeping for a really long time.

Wait, that's exactly what it had been, hadn't it? After I'd destroyed Pitch's storm, I'd fallen, exhausted, into North's sleigh. And then I was told that because right now, the world had no need for a bringer of ice and snow, I'd fallen asleep to allow the world to thaw.

And now, I was awake.

My joints cracked painfully as I sat up. I groaned slightly, scanning the ice room I'd been sleeping in for the last who knows how long, trying to get movement back into my limbs. I could barely think or even remember anything. The last thing I remembered seeing were the faces of my allies, my friends. North, Tooth, Sandy, Bunnymund, and...

"Oh no! Lucilla!" I cried, jumping up. I didn't know how long I'd been sleeping, but I hoped that I could say hello to her. Or at least goodbye. I hadn't gotten a chance to say that either.

I headed for the door, my staff in hand. I could feel ice crystals forming on my body as I stepped into North's house. It was warm, but the ice coating me protected me. Instead, the warmth just made me feel iffy on the inside. I didn't like it.

As I walked, I could hear the sound of distant voices. I left a trail of ice on the floor in my wake, but I didn't really notice it. As I followed the voices, I slowly began to recognize words.

"White Christmas... White Christmas..." A gruff voice muttered. "That's a gift I can't give."

"What are you going to do about it, North?" A high pitched voice asked.

North's voice sighed irritably. "I'll just have to make do. I just wish I could see smiling kids again."

I reached out and turned the doorknob, pushing my way into the room.

"Hello?" I said, my voice raspy from lack of use.

North and his elves turned around, their eyes widening.

"Jack Frost!" He cried, trudging towards me.

"Hi." I said, looking up at him. He then dragged me into a hug so tight, I felt like I was going to be crushed.

"It's good to see you up and about again, Jack!" North said cheerily, releasing me and slapping my shoulder. It felt like my knees were going to give out.

"How long have I been sleeping for?" I asked.

"About a hundred years or so."

"A hundred years?!" I cried.

"Honestly, I'm surprised too. I expected you to be out longer."

I fell against the wall and slid to the floor, frost crackling out from where I sat. "A hundred years..." I whispered.

"Relax, Jack."

"It's been too long..."

"You're right. We've all missed you."

"Everyone's still around?" I asked, looking up at him hopefully.

"Yep. Bunnymund comes back to visit from time to time. Tooth is the same way. Her and Sandy are always working hard." He stopped, smiling down at me.

I stared up at him, waiting, hoping for some sign of Lucilla. What had become of her?

"Lucilla's still around as well." He said after a long pause.

My eyes widened. "She is? Where is she?"

"Out and about, just as she has been since you fell asleep."

"Can I see her?"

"Sure, if she stops by. Although, Jack, she doesn't remember you."

I froze. That meant...

"She's a Guardian now?"

North nodded. "Yes. She is."

"But how? Why? What power was she given?"

"You know as well as I do that Lucilla always had a deep love for life. That's why she looked after all of those orphans." North smiled. "She was like a mother herself. But now, that's who she is for real."

"Wait, you're not saying she's...?"

"Mother Nature, Jack." North smiled warmly. "She's the one who helped thaw the ice out faster. She brought the world back to life."

"But why'd you give her powers?"

"She wanted to help with whatever she could. So I offered her a position as one of the Guardians. Her and all of those children she looked after are now spirits."

"Why the kids?" I asked. "What's their role?"

"Nature's little helpers. Warmth, time, strength, bloom, rain, that sort of thing."

"So, her new name is Nature?"

"Yes." North replied. "Always remember that. Don't tell her who she once was."

I nodded. "I know."

...

"Jack!"

I grinned as Tooth whizzed towards me. "Hey, Tooth!"

"It's great to see you again!"

"Yeah, seems like it was only yesterday, huh?"

Tooth fumed slightly. "Maybe for you, but for the rest of us, it was a really, really long time, Jack."

I laughed. "I know."

She smiled. "Good to have you back."

"It's...nice to be back?" I said with a grin.

Tooth nodded, as if this was an acceptable answer.

"I'm guessing the Guardians are gathering again?" I asked.

"I think so." Tooth said. "North told us to come as soon as possible. He didn't tell us why, but he said there was a nice surprise waiting for us. Think he meant you?"

"No wait, I got this." I ducked behind a table and jumped out from behind it. "SURPRISE!" I said cheerily, waving my arms flamboyantly

Tooth laughed. "Okay, that works too!"

Tooth and I walked down the hall towards North's living room. I sat down on the couch which partially froze as I twirled my staff between my hands. I didn't want to be sitting here, but at the same time I was eager to see my friends again.

North took one look at his couch and shook his head. "It's nice to have you back, Jack, but I'm going to have to get used to thawing out my furniture again."

I grinned. "Sorry, North. Old habits die hard."

"I can see that." North chuckled.

The door opened. "All right, mates, I'm-" Bunnymund froze as he caught sight of me. "Oh great, the brat is back."

"Hey!" I cried. "I wouldn't be talking, Kangaroo!"

Bunnymund's boomerang smacked me in the side of the head. I laughed hysterically, seeing it flying back as a chunk of ice. It slid straight out of Bunnymund's hand as he tried to catch it. The rabbit sighed in irritation and looked at me, a small smile on his face.

"Good to see you again, mate."

"You as well." I laughed, rubbing the side of my head.

Sandy joined the fray next. He bounced with glee at the sight of me being awake. I knew that there was one more left, though. I didn't know when she'd come, or whether she'd still look like Lucilla or not, but I was still eager to see her again.

"Where's Nature?" Tooth asked, getting bored. "I have things to do."

Sandy nodded in agreement, nervous about leaving sleeping children dream free.

"If you don't mind me asking..." I piped up. "What happened to Pitch?"

"He thawed out." North stated, sighing. "He's powerful, I'll give him that."

"Fear is a powerful thing." I said softly. "It doesn't surprise me that he escaped again."

The Guardians nodded grimly.

The door opened again.

"Sorry if I'm late..." A familiar voice said.

I turned, smiling at the sight of a girl with brown hair streaked with green. Her eyes were greener than sunlit leaves, and she had a smile on her face that made me feel like everything was going to be okay.

"Welcome, Nature!" North said happily.

"Hello, North." Nature said. "Why have you called me here?"

"There's somebody I'd like you to meet. A Guardian who has been sleeping for a long time now. He's just returned."

"Oh?"

I stood up and stepped towards her. "Hello." I said, holding out my hand. "I'm Jack Frost."

Nature looked me over a few times. I saw a flash of resentment in her eyes for just a split second before she reached out and shook my hand. She pulled away a second later, frost nipping at the palm of her hand.

"Well." She said, shaking the ice off her hand. "The Winter Spirit, is it?"

I nodded. "Yes, that's me."

She nodded once. "At the very least the snow melts and provides water for the plants..." She said airily, sitting down on a chair.

I returned to my spot on the couch, feeling sick to my stomach. She didn't remember me. Of course, it was to be expected.

"I hope that the two of you will get to know each other." North said. "Although I can see right about now that that would be quite difficult..."

Our eyes met from across the room. I understood what North was talking about. She brought flowers and life, and plants to the world. I, as Jack Frost, killed the things she created with cold, snow and ice. But then, at the same time, her and her plants were constantly trying to keep my frost at bay. Though we were once friends, Lucilla and I would be conflicted for the rest of our immortal lives. A wave of sadness washed through me.

"I expect you all want to get back to your posts!" North said, clapping his hands together. "You can stay as long as you like, but when you choose to, you may head back out and do your duties."

Tooth and Sandy shot into action immediately.

"See you, Jack!" Tooth called.

I waved as she left, smiling slightly.

"Jack? May I speak to you?" North called.

"Sure." I said, standing up and twirling my staff so a bit of frost formed on the floor.

"And stop freezing my house!" He laughed.

I grinned. "Sorry." I tapped the end of the staff on the ground, accidently on purpose causing a large circle of frost to form beneath it. "I just can't help it."

Bunnymund chuckled.

Nature kind of glared at me from behind.

"What did you want to speak to me about?" I asked.

"For the last several years, I've had the same wish from dozens of children around the world." North said. "They all want a white Christmas. And now that you're back..."

I grinned broadly. "I'll get right to it."

North laughed. "I hoped you would!"

"Wait!" Nature cried, standing up. "So you're just going to let this boy wreak havoc on the world? Freeze everything in sight?"

I walked towards her and trailed my staff along the ground by her feet. "Let me tell you this, Nature. I'm Jack Frost." I grinned. "I live for winter!" Then I headed straight for the window and pushed it open.

"Now wait just a second!" Nature cried, trying to step towards me. Then she realized I'd frozen her feet to the floor. "JACK FROST!" She shrieked.

I laughed. "See you in spring!" Then I leapt out the window, flying on the wind towards the south, ready to give the children of the world exactly what they wanted:

A White Christmas.

.

.

.

FIN


End file.
